Edmonton artist sharing Indigenous culture through television show

An artist focusing on restoring his culture is using art to teach others what has been lost with colonization.

Lance Cardinal, an artist from Bigstone Cree Nation, is often laughing as he moves from one project to the next. Behind the smile is a serious purpose: reconciliation and the restoration of his culture.

“The time for us to be subtle is over, the time for us to be complacent and wait around is over,” Cardinal said. “It took about seven generations for our people to lose our culture.”

His elders, he says, believe it will take another seven generations to find it again.

Cardinal considers himself to be the second generation of that journey. Now the focus is on youth - the generations that follow.

Sharing his art - and enthusiasm for his culture with a young – is now with a national audience. He is doing this on a new TV show, Indigenous Art Adventures with Lance Cardinal. He describes the online show as ‘Indigenous Mr. Dressup' – complete with puppets.

His latest work is a mural on a prominent wall at the headquarters of the Catholic school board in Edmonton.

“They approached me and said would you like to have a voice there, this wall is for you,” Cardinal said. “Every day, they're going to see this representation in this space and be reminded this is Indigenous land they're on.”

Lance says he is learning too, “because time is important. I have to learn and teach and share who I am, as I learn.”

Relentlessly optimistic, Cardinal thinks seven generations may not be necessary to find indigenous culture again.

“It's important for me to push hard, to put murals up to talk about content to show pictures to share art to celebrate and yell from the top of the buildings, this is who we are! Let’s all come together and celebrate indigenous culture. It's a beautiful thing!”