At 35 years old, the multidisciplinary artist is part of a rising generation of personalities who are promoting Indigenous cultures. An incursion into her dance and poetry.
On TikTok, some 32,500 people follow Catherine Boivin to the rhythm of the fancy shawl dance. On her blog, she composes hauntingly beautiful poetry and sketches that are both soft and powerful. It comes as no surprise that it took just a few years for the young Atikamekw to become a muse of Indigenous communities. Her humorous words raise awareness and lend a light and contemporary tone to the conversation.
Catherine Boivin is delighted to see tourism boom among the 11 Indigenous Nations and Inuit in Quebec. The artist has always attached great importance to the authenticity of cultural experiences. She uses the example of a traditional soup sold by her husband, chef and artisan Jacques T. Watso. The recipe is part of the W8banaki heritage of Odanak, the community where the couple lives. “When you eat sagamité, you’re learning a way of life that has evolved,” she says. To understand, yes, but to touch the sacredness is something else. “My grandfather used to say, ‘Don’t pay for pray.’ This means that there are experiences that cannot be bought,” says Catherine. However, she doesn’t consider herself a purist. “You can visit a Pow Wow and talk about the origins of this holiday for the body and mind,” she says. “You can try fried Bannock or participate in a mokocan, a kind of potluck where you can taste different flavours, but [some notions] can only be taught over years, sometimes a lifetime. People can’t assimilate by simply buying an admission ticket.”
Her playground, the one she shares with her partner and Maskowisi, her 3-year-old daughter, is Notcimik, the forest, the territory, Mother Earth. “That’s where I come from, and I need to immerse myself in it on a regular basis.”
It’s Catherine’s beautiful authenticity that shines through her art. A quality that’s so easy to find if you know where to look: “Instinctively seek out the real encounter,” adds Catherine. “That’s what’s interesting: visiting a place and coming out with a history and an understanding that leads to a greater openness to the Other.”
RUN IN WITH TRIUMPH: Catherine Boivin also directed the award-winning documentary 6 minutes/km. The short film was showcased at Cannes in 2023, and won an award at the Toronto International Film Festival.