In 2018, my Abstracts of Light and Shadows social art project focused my paintbrush, news camera, and canvases into the sunshine to expose the shadows cast by trees, and into the nature, of birds of prey and humankind. This untitled painting began as I carried my easel, a backpack full of paint, and a blank canvas down Jasper Avenue on my way to the Alberta Legislature grounds. At 104th Street and Jasper Avenue, I stepped into an argument already in motion—a Black man leaving the 7‑Eleven, a Red man demanding loose change, and tension rising fast. When the Black man refused, the Red man shouted, and the Black man responded with a raised middle finger. The situation escalated instantly. Across the intersection, it was just me and one other white man watching the scene unfold in the early summer light. 

I moved forward, ready to help calm things down, but before I reached them the Red man chased the Black man down the street, yelling, “Get off my land!” I caught up with the Black man inside the Red Arrow bus station, where he’d taken shelter while waiting for his bus. That’s where I learned what sparked the confrontation. I reassured him I was prepared to step in, wished him well, and learned he was on his way to Fort McMurray to work in the oil patch. Later, I painted this story beside Premier Rachel Notley’s office window, in the Legislature gardens where passersby often stop to talk. Several added their own strokes of acrylic paint to the canvas, including a young Indigenous man who shared his experience of homelessness and the grief of losing so many friends and family members to addictions and suicide. I listened while he painted. This painting eventually became the image for my Listen label—printed on T‑shirts worn inside the Alberta Legislature during its 30th and 31st sessions.
In Canada, the phrase "We are all Treaty people" serves as a reminder that the Treaties between Indigenous nations and the Crown are foundational to the entire country. These Treaties aren’t simply historical documents; they’re living commitments that affect all Canadians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike. This concept emphasizes a shared responsibility to uphold, respect, and honor these agreements as part of the fabric of Canadian democracy.

On the other hand, the United States, while not using the same phrase, has also affirmed the importance of Indigenous rights through a regional lens. As part of the Organization of American States (OAS), the U.S. adopted the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2016. This declaration recognizes the contributions and integral role of Indigenous peoples throughout the Americas, affirming that their rights are essential to the social and cultural fabric of the region.

In essence, both Canada and the United States, through different paths, acknowledge that Indigenous rights and Treaties are not isolated matters but are crucial to the broader democratic and cultural landscape. Both countries, in their respective ways, recognize the need to respect these relationships and uphold the commitments made to Indigenous peoples as a shared, living responsibility.
Art is Freedom
We Are All Treaty People 
XYZ
​All Flowers Matter, Listen...