Here Is Where We Shall Stay

Pat Kane

For generations, Indigenous people in Canada have lived under the laws and values of European settlers through forced assimilation. The introduction of residential schools, formed by the federal government and instituted by the Anglican Catholic Church, pulled Indigenous children away from their lands, families, languages, and identities. The goal—according to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada—was to bring “civilization to the savage people who could never civilize themselves.”

This project focuses on how Indigenous people in the Northwest Territories of Northern Canada are moving towards meaningful self-determination by resetting the past. The act of reclaiming culture and identity is ongoing, and my friends here are resilient in a place where symbols and systems of colonization loom large. We can hear colonization when Dene families pray to the Virgin Mary, but we see Indigenization when a young woman holds the hide of a caribou in her arms. In Catholicism we are “Children of God,” but in the Dene worldview we are “One with the Land.”

There is a complex tension between the way of the church and the way of the ancestors. While it may be impossible to break free of the colonizers, the subtle, defiant, and beautiful acts of resistance give strength to say: “We are still here; here is where we shall stay”.

Artist Bios

Pat Kane

Pat Kane is a visual storyteller based in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, on the traditional land of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation.

He takes a documentary approach to stories about life in Northern Canada, with a special focus on issues important to Indigenous people, including the relationship between land and identity.

Pat is a National Geographic Explorer, and a former mentee of the World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass. His work has been published by National Geographic, The New York Times, World Press Photo, The Atlantic, The Globe and Mail, and other media worldwide.

Pat is of Irish-Canadian and Algonquin Anishinaabe ancestry, and is a member of the Timiskaming First Nation.

He’s part of the photo collectives Indigenous Photograph and Boreal Collective.

Organizations

Indigenous Photograph

Indigenous Photograph is a space to elevate the work of Indigenous visual journalists and bring balance to the way we tell stories about Indigenous people and spaces. Their mission is to support the media industry in hiring more Indigenous photographers to tell the stories of their communities, and to reflect on how we tell these stories.

Indigenous Photograph’s global database is available to photo editors, creative directors, and those who routinely hire photographers. The electronic database of their members includes detailed information regarding geographical areas of expertise, languages spoken, and contact information.