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

“The spirit continues to follow who knows its call & returns to his home.”
“Nature’s timeline takes time.”
— Jane Ash Poitras

“I am an Indian. I am a member of the Mikisew band in Fort Chip. The People of the Arctic.”

This work reflects Jane Ash Poitras’ deep connection to her Cree identity and homeland, referencing the Mikisew Cree First Nation in Fort Chipewyan, Alberta. Her layered mixed-media technique blends history, memory, land, and spirit into a unified visual language.

Dimensions: 24″ X 20″

Title: “Protecting our world”

Medium: Mixed Media On Canvas

C. 2022

Categories: , ,
Artist:

Mikisew Cree First Nation
“Keeping the Circle Strong: From Caribou to Bison People”

Jane Ash Poitras—also known by her Cree name Tchilekwiyusse (Little Boy Child)—is an internationally acclaimed contemporary artist, writer, and lecturer of Mikisew Cree First Nation descent. A Member of the Order of Canada (CM) and the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA), Poitras lives and works in Edmonton, Alberta, and is celebrated for her powerful visual storytelling, multidisciplinary practice, and commitment to Indigenous cultural resurgence.

Poitras creates large-scale, layered mixed media works that fuse printmaking, painting, collage, and found objects. Her pieces often include hand-written text, ethnobotanical elements, and photographic references—bridging past and present through a complex interplay of imagery, history, and meaning. With themes grounded in climate change, reconciliation, cultural memory, land stewardship, and the role of women in Indigenous communities, her work opens space for dialogue across histories and identities.

Her artistic vision is informed by a rich educational background. Poitras holds degrees in Microbiology and Fine Artsfrom the University of Alberta, along with further studies at Yale University and an MFA from Columbia University in New York. Her knowledge spans multiple disciplines—pharmacology, literature, linguistics, and current politics—which are woven into her deeply symbolic, socially engaged art practice.

In her own words, Poitras says:

“I am exploring and creating art about reconciliation. Healing of nations coming together to make the world a better place… exploring how we are all more alike than different.”

Poitras’s early life in Fort Chipewyan and her later reconnection to her Cree heritage were formative influences in her development as an artist. Orphaned at a young age and raised by a German-Canadian adoptive mother, she spent her early life assimilated into mainstream Canadian society. It wasn’t until her 30s that she reembraced her Indigenous identity—a profound turning point that reshaped both her life and her work.

Her art has been exhibited internationally and is held in the permanent collections of major institutions. In addition to the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, she holds honorary doctorates from both the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta, reflecting her lasting influence on generations of students, scholars, and fellow artists.

Faust Gallery is honored to present the work of Jane Ash Poitras, whose visionary art challenges, educates, and inspires—bridging nations, worldviews, and generations through a deeply personal and political lens.

“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.