re: the monster project burning crosses thing.

hello friends, fans, foe and lovers,

ah, the burning crosses in our video preview. no, we're not satanists, maybe a bit hedonists, but bloody hell, who wouldn't be given the opportunity? haha. i don't think we're nihilists, maybe a bit anarchist, probably left wing, and definitely Indigenous.

so, what's with the burning cross you say? is it about something sinister? devious? a plot against organized religion? i don't think so, we're not that bloody clever. haha. the real deal is, a couple years ago i was filming a documentary about a group of First Nations, or Indigenous people, or aboriginal people, or as they like to say in the United States, "native americans," haha, sorry about the laugh, but Indians in the states are always so serious about that, whereas up here we refer to ourselves as "Indians," or a variation of that. haha.

anyway, this documentary was about a particular tribal group that was replacing the "pitch," headstones with granite slabs, proper memorial stones, because the pitch gravestones were 50 to 100 years old or more. a pitch headstone is increasingly tough to find as well, because we've plundered our forests so bad here in the interior of british columbia, the entire province actually, has been over logged for more than a century. i'm getting off topic a bit, so a "pitch," headstone is one where a tree has died, or has an excessive amount of pitch, the tree dies and all the pitch, thanks to gravity sinks to the bottom of the tree and then the top of the tree eventually breaks off in a thing called "windshear," where the dried up, empty part of the tree breaks off in the wind over time. people have died from it, i mean imagine a 2000 pound tree falling on you. boom, your dead.

so, because our people didn't have money and still don't have money for fancy grave stones or memorial markers, we'd go find a pitch stump, carve it up, bring it down the mountain and use it as a memorial stone. i mean think about it, they weigh a ton and are bloody solid because the sap hardens and acts like a preservative. which is why they last so long, i mean, an ordinary stump would only last a few decades at best and begone, concrete would crumble  and so we were left with an extraordinary amount of these crosses and grave markers piling up beside the cemeteries throughout the interior of BC as we replaced hundreds of these pitch headstones with granite ones.

of course, we wrote down as best we could the names of the people, they were from our bands, our families or long lost ones and families we never knew or heard of, because think about it, a century ago our people were going through unbelievable turmoil and changes. settlers and immigrants were landing in canada en masse and the indigenous people were being pushed off of their traditional lands onto tiny, shitty, useless reserves and forced to exist on rations and handouts from the colonial oppressors. not too mention all these horrible diseases we had never encountered before that were ravaging our people, something simple like the flu lead to complications, worse infections and death. then there was small pox, bronchitis, typhus, and more and more. whole bands and even nations were dying, so they were moving all over the place trying to escape these new, horrible ways to die.

as we were going about, i noticed quite a few cemeteries along train tracks, and i asked why? well, apparently, people would come to the train tracks with their ill trying to get a ride to a hospital or a doctor, and many died along the tracks, or the trains would be so full of ill people or dying or dead that when there would be too many, they'd simply stop somewhere and dump bodies into a mass grave. if they could, families would come back and put up pitch headstones, but more often than not, these places only had one large ominous cross in the cemeteries. maybe with a date and the name of a chief or someone of note who had passed away. it was all quite sad really, thinking about all these aboriginal people that were dumped along the train tracks into mass graves and given these anonymous silent burials. i'd notice chiefs far from other territories that no one knew or could remember, perhaps they'd died trying to find medical attention for their nation or family or themselves. and as we pulled these gravestones out of these cemeteries, they began to pile up and i remember my chief and some others wondering what to do, and i said, 'let's burn them," because we didn't want people to steal them.

deep down i also think i wanted to rid ourselves of the yolk of colonialism and conquering, european religion was rammed down our throats for well over a century, we had residential schools, we've had abuses of all kinds in these horrible places that took generation after generation of children away from their families and forced them to stop practicing their culture, their language and their traditions in some misguided attempt to "remove the indian from the child." my own family has been deeply affected by the residential school system, both my parents went as did their siblings, and life has never been the same for them, or normal for me.

so i said we should burn them and almost without word or ceremony that's exactly what we did, we dragged all these pitch crosses and headstones out and set them on fire. and because they were full of pitch, boy did they go up in flames, the heat burned fast and fiercely intense and hot. in a way it was a relief to watch them go up and so i started filming and taking pictures, and then my chief called me over as i was wandering around one particular cemetery and told me to look, because as the headstones were burning, the names of the people would briefly appear as the years of debris burned away, so i tried taking as many photos as i could. some of these headstones were so old that on the surface, there was nothing we could get from them, no names or anything, we would even trying to rub a pencil on wax paper to get something from them and we would get nothing. but some of them, as they burned, the names and dates would appear, only for about thirty seconds and then would be gone. so we got some documentation and would fix unmarked headstones with their names. for me it was cathartic, a relief really, that we were taking back our family and traditional names where we could and freeing ourselves from this forced religion that had done so much damage to our people. everyone one was quiet and i often wonder if they felt the same thing, it was powerful and something i'll never forget.

which leads us to the whole point of this endeavour, it was to remember those who had passed on before, with proper stone memorials, the by product was perhaps wiping away clean the lasting vestiges of a religion we never wanted in the first place. so now you know the story about the burning crosses in our video preview, and perhaps now we could move on and get back to the music if you don't mind too terribly?!?

regards,


chris bose.
ps: as an artist and aboriginal person, i'm pretty goddamn tired of explaining and justifying myself all the time. been doing it my whole life, and quite done with it. perhaps you should explain yourself to me?!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7tLpysqAnY&list=UUX6ugt96BuSUAPvoWFogX-w

re: five years.

hello lovers,

well today is a special day. sort of. it is the 5th anniversary of Stephen Harper apologizing to the First Nations, Metis and Inuit people of Canada for the residential school system, the racism and all that followed such a brutal method of integrating the First peoples of Canada into the public mainstream.

What has happened? Well, 2 years ago I mentored the youth from the Kelowna friendship centre on making their own film, telling their own story, little did we know when we first started it, that it would be the last project for that group. Why? It is because Stephen Harper cut $22 million from Federal funding to all the Friendship Centres in Canada across the board and invested instead, $27 million in new prison building. Kind of obvious isn't it?

That man must be stopped. Evicted. Sent out of Canada.

Anyways, I want to hear from you dear reader, lover, blog follower, stalkers, fans, foe and the like. Tell me what you know about the Apology and what does it mean to you? What should it mean to you?

Until next time,


Chris Bose.

http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?id=2146

Re: this photo!

Hello lovers,

This photo blows my mind!

It was my second day documenting what was going on, and I had no ideas the headstones were going to be burned.

This image is a powerful one to me because it is my chief David Walkem, warming his drum on the fire of burning crosses. One of the things it represents to me, is that despite centuries of oppression, racism, genocide, and religion being literally thrust upon us, we are still here, and warming our drums and hearts to the burning crosses of our oppressors.

Cb

re: fire and redemption......

hello friends, fans, foe and lovers,

how's it going? i'm ottawa, it's hot, humid and intense. i like it here, it's a nice city, and i've found places to do art, and people are quite friendly.

things are going well.

anyway, here's some art.

until next time lovers,


cb

re: kanata day

hello friends, fans, foe and lovers,

it's Kanata day, a day that first nations, metis and inuit both loathe and maybe celebrate across canada.

we are a people that have many unresolved issues, actions and history with our government and citizens. we have a hidden history, one most people across the vast country called canada do not know even exists. i always have a challenging time with this celebration, because internally i'm wrestling and struggling with it, because both my parents went through the meat-grinder of the Residential School system and are complete messes as a result. i have no relationship with them, and it saddens me, and my kids are at an age where they are starting to ask about them. what do i tell them? the truth? no, they're too young, and i want them to have some sort of childhood. so, i soldier on, and tell them bits that i can and wait until i can figure out the rest.

in the meantime, i'm posting four or five pieces today, older and newer and i hope you contemplate them each, and try to understand what i'm saying through visual metaphor.

all the bets,


cb

the priest they called him.

re: new art.

hello friends, fans, foe and lovers,

here's some swanky new art for you. it's about the prairies, the residential schools, and duncan campbell scott.

later,


cb

ps: he's doing the "Metal" sign. 

re: vancity show

Hello friends, fans, foe, and lovers,

here's some info on an upcoming show in vancity, we're having the opening reception this friday, if you're in the area, come have a visit.

http://www.helenpittgallery.org/exhibitions/current-and-upcoming/ill-repute/chris-bose-the-apology/

i'm also publishing a chapbook in conjunction with the show, so do come check it out, the film i finished for the show is being projected onto Pender street, downtown eastside, in chinatown. sweet. 

hopefully it'll disturb people. 

cheers,

cb

re: apology video.....

hello friends, fans, foe and lovers,

so, here's the video i just finished, it's not really finished, but for this week, it's finished.....i'm certain i'll peck at it all week into the new year, tweaking it and trying to make sure it's as best as i can do.

it represent 3 years of my life creatively, and the last 3 decades dealing with the non-native people of canada.

if at times you twinge and feel shitty, about a joke you heard about native people and didn't have the guts, balls, or ovaries to say something, or you yourself said something stupid, colonial and ignorant, or you have that drunk uncle who's a racist prick, or in high school you bugged the native kid, or kids, or didn't stand up for someone indian when you had the chance.

i want you to suck it up. wallow in it. feel it. that post-colonial guilt. enjoy it. savour it. bake at 350 degree without rotating and stuff it in the deepest, darkest corners of your, uhm psyche.

this short film is dedicated to canada and all my relations,

the prime ministers words say enough in this video.

until next time lovers and i'm sure, haters,



cb.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIObVkzzspU

re: happy holidays from mr. bigglesworth II and me!

hello friends, fans, foe, and lovers, ex's too! haha.

the holidays are upon us, we're half way there, christmas is behind us, new years ahead, and another 365 days to get it right.

i've got a ton of art in the works right now, and i just finished my installation video for my show in vancity, and i feel it is the culmination of nearly 3 years of struggling to creatively express my disdain, delight and disgust with the Apology from Stephen Harper on behalf of the Government of Canada and it's lumpen proletariat. oooh, did that sound snobby? like i give a shit, because i've toured across this country more than 12 times in the past couple years since the Apology and in NDN country, it had the significance of time standing still. our world stopped that day, and we gathered in band halls, kitchens, living rooms, class rooms, offices, and conference halls to watch what i'm sure each and everyone one of us was thinking; that we'd never hear an apology in our lifetime.

in the rest of the country, it had the cultural importance and resonance of a wet fart. it was a gamble, it came, it went, left a bit of a mess, and that was about it. i've lectured at high schools, galleries, universities, coffee houses, theatres, festivals and just about everywhere else you can think of, and other than the teachers, administrators, organizers, and NDN students, NO ONE HAS EVEN HEARD OF THE APOLOGY. what a bunch of dumbasses in this country. yeah, i hope you feel guilty, wallow in that post-colonial guilt, because every day, every other day, every week of my life, i've had to justify and stand up to the ugly, ignorant Canadian about First Nations rights, land and title.

"yes we pay taxes, no my schooling wasn't free, i don't have free land, or a house, i didn't get a hundred grand when i turned 19 from the government, and on and on," you stupid, ignorant racist canadian swine.

oooh, my apologies if i sound jaded, bitter and harsh, but you try justifying yourself as often as i described for nearly 30 years to canadians, who have the nerve to trash talk NDN's. it gets pretty damn tiring. and you have to stand up and say something, because silence is justification, and justification is acceptance, and that is just ignorant.

anyway, the Apology, it happened, it was heavy, it was emotional, i cried, everyone around me cried, it felt like a powerful victory in the slow, but steady slog to regain our rights and title in this country that was totally stolen from us. for nothing, look around you canada, the middle class, and the wealthy elite, none of you wouldn't have a damn thing if it weren't for the land, the resources, the minerals and the oil you extract from this country you stole. period.

there is no middle class in NDN country, only the poor and the wealthy elite who are administrators and the like, some no more than white collar criminals. there is a thin, very thin veil of a blue collar working class, but it is not like the rest of canada.

think about it, until 1961, we couldn't vote, couldn't leave the reserve without permission, couldn't speak our languages, couldn't practice our ceremonies or other cultural activities, couldn't work off reserve, couldn't sell whatever we could grow on our reserves to white people, couldn't own farm equipment, couldn't go to anything but residential schools, and to top it off, since 1870, First Nations children were stolen from their parents at the age of 6 until 16, forced to move far away from their families to attend Residential schools, to "kill the Indian in the child," and on and on.

and white people have the gaul to talk shit about us.

yeesh.

anyways, i'll post my video later this week, it kicks ass.

in the meantime, have a safe and happy holiday from Mr. Bigglesworth II and myself,


cheers,

cb.

re: the apology series.

greetings friends, fans, foe and lovers,

here are four new works based on the apology by stephen harper to the first nations, inuit and metis people of canada. they are 11 x 17 in diameter, and i'm making them available to institutions, educational facilities and organizations as a means furthering the education about the Residential schools and the importance and significance of the Apology. 

After traveling across the country the past few years giving lectures and talks about aboriginal art, and it's frightening how little impact it made in this country, so i figured creating a series of art might be able to help make people aware of it. i always say, born a native, born an activist. because, for the rest of your life, you have to justify your existence to the rest of canada.

the image above, is based on the photo of St. George's Residential school in Lytton, BC.

it burnt to the ground because of arson. my mother and father both went there and were

never the same. i think they never left in some ways.

in the meantime, keep you posted on new work coming soon, happy holidays,

cb

re: new pomes.

hello friends, fans, foe and lovers,

here are a couple new pomes. haven't been writing much lately, been pursuing other creative activities, and i suspect my brain can only accommodate so many things at once. getting a bit older you know?

anyways, here they are, enjoy my lovelies.

The skeetch Indian:

On the public transit heading

Downtown

I meet an Indian dude

Who tells me he’s heading

To the oil rigs soon

As he just passed the

Physical and drug tests

Even though he ripped a couple

Big fat rails a couple days before

The tests

And he told me about smoking crack

And how it never got it’s claws

Into him

Which made me think of scabby

And that girl I wrote about

A long time ago

And how I recently saw them both

Scabby looked the same

On and off the rock and heroin

The girl look good

Healthy and happy

Glowing even as she picked up groceries

Where I most recently saw her

And as the bus weaved through town

Me and the Skeetch NDN

We talked about work

And how much

We both hated this town

And how there was no money here

And this was a place where people came to die

And then he was gone

Off the bus

And I was staring out the window

At the grey skies

Wondering what I was going to do next

With my life.

A pipeline to god:

In every needle

In every crack pipe

In every bottle

In every cigarette

In every city

There is a pipeline to god.

At least

That’s what they think

And that’s why

They keep chasing it

Down every city street

Every dark alley

Every whorehouse

And dime bag

Again and again

I don’t know if it’s addiction

Or malnutrition

Or capitalism

Or a poor upbringing

By fucked up parents

In a fucked up society

But I do know

They are on a pipeline

To god

And I don’t judge them

On that

Because I’m on my own

Pipeline to god

And there is nothing

You can do about it.

and in case you were being a paranoid fuck, ART is my pipeline to god. yeesh. 

cb

re: oh canada, or kanata!?

hello lovers,

it's been a week or so, sigh, never enough time and best laid plans and all that.....i've got 6 new works on the go. yes dear fan, foe, friend and the like. in my daily rummaging on the internet i found some cool art, and searching for inspiration. also, been doing some work on my technique. dave mckean was doing stuff 16 years ago on a mac i can't figure out today.

imagine the nervousness he must have felt in rendering files. get the art prepared, save it, and then hit render and wait until morning to see how it looked or if it crashed. nowadays, i wait 30 seconds i get impatient. technology spins us round and round, but is anything improving?

yes, no, maybe. haha.

well, i've got some work to do, hope you are ready for the holidays, and all is well in your world.

born a native in canada means you are born an activist whether or not you're willing to accept it, is another question. as an artist, i believe that i have an opportunity to kick in the door of oppression, and expose light and injustice into darkness and darker times. there's a lot of talk about what's going on in Attawapiskat, northern ontario. it's a native village, that's gotten national attention recently, but it's no different from a lot of reserves in canada. people don't understand an Indian Reservation was created to conveniently put us out of sight and out of the picture. we weren't allowed to leave without the authorization of the Indian agent. we couldn't own vehicles, or sell crops or anything to white people. we couldn't buy farm equipment. we couldn't get an education besides residential schools. we couldn't work off reserve. we couldn't vote. basically, we had no rights and were prisoners on our own land. and white people dare to bitch about us? yeesh. talk about official and collective denial.

here's a couple images of Attawapiskat reserve and the housing crisis they face, ironically, the de beers corporation have a diamond mine 90 km away. how bittersweet.

talk about remote living? i bet everything starts at $20 in a place like this.

money and poverty.

and now, check out this little gem of canadiana. nice.

words fail me.

what do you think?

and finally, a couple images, one of a residential school, and the other of stephen harper.

crazy hey?

well, i've been busy, sorting through a lot of art, film and stuff. doing some research and spending time with my kids as it is the holiday season. hope all is well in your world,

adios,

cb

re: 600th blog post.....

hello friends, fans, foe and lovers,

well, here we are, the 600th blog post. never thought i'd be here, never thought this far ahead before. what's going on in my life on this milestone? i'm listening to an album i bought 12 years ago and still digging it, blur's album "13" and just sort of rediscovered it quite recently. a lot of things have happened in that time, and i've stumbled, staggered, fell down and gotten back up many times.

i'm a survivor. i have to keep moving on, and certain albums, books, artwork, films and other cultural things weave in and out of my life for reasons often unknown. how this album came into my possession is kind of a mystery, i think i originally bought it at the future shop in aberdeen mall here in town, because i like the production william orbit did on it. that year, i also go pj harvey's "is this desire" and tom waits "beautiful maladies" a best of compilation from island records. don't remember much more than that from that era really. i went through a lot of hell for a couple years with women. lost it all. haven't really been the same since i think, haha!

a late bloomer for sure, i spent too many years fucking around, and i don't know if i'm paying for it, have paid for it, or what's coming down for sure.

anyways, here's something i worked on for a while, not sure if i like it entirely, but it felt good to work on, and i don't know if its done or not, but whatever, i've got stuff to do, hope you dig it, going to work on a NDN version of "paranormal activity" in the next couple weeks, should be hilarious. want to do some funny stuff in film for awhile. too serious, ain't fun.

in the meantime lovers,

all the best,


cb

"The treatment of children in Indian Residential Schools is a sad chapter in our history.

For more than a century, Indian Residential Schools separated over 150,000 Aboriginal children from their families and communities. In the 1870's, the federal government, partly in order to meet its obligation to educate Aboriginal children, began to play a role in the development and administration of these schools.  Two primary objectives of the Residential Schools system were to remove and isolate children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate them into the dominant culture.  These objectives were based on the assumption Aboriginal cultures and spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal. Indeed, some sought, as it was infamously said, "to kill the Indian in the child".  Today, we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country."

Stephen Harper, June 11, 2008.

re: lust and anger.

Greetings Friends, Fans, Foe and Lovers,

Two more new works, i am on FYAH! 

yes, i know i just spelt FYAH! coz i could!

As of late, you may notice my work has been revolving around two themes, LUST, and ANGER!! ARGH!

GRR!

Just kidding, I don't know why, but i'm sure there is some reason beneath the surface. Last night i had the strangest dreams that i met and russian girl named Natasha, and she became my lover. it was very strange. we had a bonnie and clyde thing going. anyways, dig the new work, i'm working on a couple grants, one for the banff centre in the new year, both are residency type things. i need some time to develop a new body of work, even though i feel one brewing.

in the meantime lovers,

take care,

cb

re: we stand on guard for thee.

hello friends, fans, lovers and foe,

here's a work i've been slaving away at for the past few days, it came about by me remembering someone actually saying to me, "the only good indian is a dead indian," several times by losers my mum was dating.

it affected me profoundly, and for many years, i had a difficult time with my native heritage and admitting it publicly.

anyways, i'm going to work on a series of art about that phrase.

until next time,

cb

oh, one other one i've been working on while working on the one above.

re: the onondaga madonna.......

 

 

Duncan Campbell Scott (1862-1947)

The Onondaga Madonna

1898

She stands full-throated and with careless pose,
 This woman of a weird and waning race,
 The tragic savage lurking in her face,
 Where all her pagan passion burns and glows;
 Her blood is mingled with her ancient foes,
 And thrills with war and wildness in her veins;
 Her rebel lips are dabbled with the stains
 Of feuds and forays and her father's woes.
 
 And closer in the shawl about her breast,
 The latest promise of her nation's doom,
 Paler than she her baby clings and lies,
 The primal warrior gleaming from his eyes;
 He sulks, and burdened with his infant gloom,
 He draws his heavy brows and will not rest.

so, most people have no idea, who this guy is, 

i ask it all the time in universities, high schools 

and the like, across canada 

and i get blank faces staring at me.......

the same is for the "Apology" from Stephen Harper 

to us NDN's in Kanata

.......

what it demonstrates in some ways, 

is the cultural sensitivity or lack thereof, 

or the continual "Dumbing DOWN" of our society

what are your thoughts?

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/06/11/pm-statement.html

i've been under the weather all week, 

and also currently do not have a working computer, 

so i'm not online or doing art....

i am playing lots of music though 

and writing a whole whack of new songs....

i'll be collaborating with my friend soon and we'll

hopefully be recording and writing more stuff soon!

exciting!

until next time peeps,

cb

re: wanted dead or alive......

ahhhh, how i would love to have a time machine, i'd definitely go back and change a few screw ups.....that our wonderful society has wrought upon many people around the world.........

namely this guy, duncan campbell scott.......if you have no idea who he is, why are you looking at this blog? go and do some research and then come back.......

until next time kiddies, i'll continue exploring dreams and nightmares.......

hugs,

cb

closer to the truth

god is the devil, the devil in god. i'm getting closer to the truth about what happened to my parents in the residential school system. it's tragic. necessary. it is closure. i rage continuously because, nothing seems to change in the world, in society, in politics. it is my armour. it guides me. it protects me from phoniness, from assholes, from people who would use me. rage. it isn't necessarily a bad thing, only to those who fear it.

kanata

this was the first thing i've done in a few days, i've been working on a couple film projects, so i've been preoccupied.......i don't really like this one, basically, the faces in the image are from the kamloops residential school....some archival photo i found online somewhere.....

i'm gonna do some more art now. and keep this baby rolling along........

we apologize...