Poitras, Jane Ash Mixed Media Painting On Canvas “Protecting Our World”

“Medicine Posse” by Jane Ash Poitras (Cree)   Description:“Medicine Posse” by renowned Cree artist Jane Ash Poitras, CM RCA, is a powerful mixed-media collage that blends archival photographs, handwritten text, layered symbolism, and vibrant acrylics. This piece is a striking visual exploration of Indigenous medicine, ancestral knowledge, and resistance, told through historical and contemporary voices. At the center of the composition is a black-and-white photograph labeled “Choctaw Eight Horse, 1885,” featuring a group of Native men holding pipes, exuding strength and unity. This archival anchor is surrounded by layered cultural imagery: early 20th-century portraits of Indigenous women, warriors, tipis, and landscape paintings representing Turtle Island’s sacred geography. The upper section includes text:“22 MEDICINE Posse”— a reference to both traditional medicine societies and the artist’s contemporary interpretation of cultural guardianship. Throughout the piece, handwritten notes appear in Jane Ash Poitras’ signature style, combining personal reflection with historical commentary. These include: “The sacred ways of living healthy. Today, traditional medicine can span an extended habitat art.”“The heartbeat is the forest structure, the oxygen you breathe. When the medicine person starts, he/she enters into an altered state of consciousness at will in order to…” Additional handwritten reflections read: “Instructions come directly from the spirits of the shaman. Shamans are near-ancient technicians of altered states of consciousness. Power is here all the time. Nobody can control power.” The lower register of the composition contains expressive pictographic elements drawn in white and red over a band of rust-colored pigment—perhaps referencing petroglyphs or the mark-making traditions of Plains tribes. Finally, the artwork transitions into a richly painted prairie-scape at the bottom, symbolizing the ongoing connection between land, spirit, and community—an homage to the enduring power of medicine and cultural resilience.