Experience Design | Ui Ux | Exhibition Design
Detroit Historical Society: Oil, Water & Anishinaabe Women
A humane, personal, yet publicly placed set of experiences that take shape as public portraits and water wells, each linking to a companion mobile experience to further augment the stories told. Using juxtaposition and personification this artwork combines imagery of oil and portraits of Anshinaabe women - the Protectors of Water - and hopes to bring awareness to the danger of Line 5, a major oil pipeline in the Enbridge Lakehead System which conveys petroleum from western Canada to eastern Canada via the Great Lakes states. To their core, Anishinaabe women are a powerful force of strength and wisdom. They are known for their natural ability to lead & protect and are known as inspiring activists. The Anishinaabemowin word, mindimooyehn (old woman), translates in english to, "the one who holds everything together from the family to the nation”. In order to protect future generations, they have a sacred responsibility to protect Earth's water and are now calling on all allies for support in stopping Line 5.
These experiences are outdoors on the shore of Belle Isle under willow trees, the Riverwalk, and Fort Wayne. Beyond Detroit, these can be placed along the Great Lakes shoreline leading north, parallel to Line 5. Each experience would have a different indigenous story and portrait displayed.
A companion experience, linking to the physical experiences, further augments the stories being told. Through the mobile experience is a deeper read into specific indigenous stories reflecting the importance and value of water protection and women. Also during the mobile experience is the opportunity to search for more installations around Michigan and outsourced, updated information about Line 5 - prompting a call to action and more information about the pipeline.
Collaborators:
Jacob Aleman - Communication Designer | Teammate
Matthew Raupp - Communication Designer | Mentor
William - Photojournalist | Mentor
The Outdoor Experience
What the process looked like –
This process began with researching the history of Michigan’s tribes, conducting safe and respectful interviews with Anishinaabe people, and most importantly, unlearning.
Some of the process that isn’t photographed is an intimate interview with myself and a few colleagues where we asked questions about native history and experiences. Some of the questions I asked involved spirituality and what is is like to be a native woman. I learned a lot about the honor and sacred responsibility native women hold.
That interview is where I found the concept of the well. The woman is to be sacred and upheld by the people in her family. But more than that, she is a leader, she is a protector of her family and water. If water is in danger, her future of her family is in danger.
During this project, I gave several oral presentations, but for our first presentation to the client (where we covered history and some of the systematic issues of indigenous peoples) myself and one other colleague were nominated by our mentor to deliver this challenging presentation.