Boozhoo, Aniin Keesis Sagay Egette Kwe nindiznikaaz (greetings, my name is First Shining Rays of Sunlight Woman). Dr. Jennifer Leason is an off-reserve member of Pine Creek Indian Band, Manitoba and the proud mother of Lucas and Lucy.

Dr. Leason is a Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), Canada Research Chair, Tier II, Indigenous Maternal Child Wellness and an Associate Professor at the University of Calgary. Her research and art aims to highlight Indigenous perinatal health disparities and inequities by examining maternity experiences, healthcare utilization, and social-cultural contexts of First Nations, Métis and Inuit maternal child wellness.

My art has been about intergenerational healing, transforming my anger and grief into art, and seeing/feeling the love and beauty of each day. The art is a celebration of the ancestors; Indigneous identity; belief and belonging; colour and connection; self determination and definition; family and friendship; forgiveness and the future; land and language; persistence and patience; rest and reconciliation; sorrow and surrender; truth and time.

Matriarchal Wisdom (2019), Acrylic on Paper

Touch your belly button.... and think about whom it was connected to. Your mother. And if your mother were to touch her belly button, who was she connected to? Your grandmother. And if she, or your great grandmother, or great, great grandmother were to touch their belly buttons... and so on... all of our belly buttons would connect us to our first mother- Mother Earth. This connection to our mothers and Mother Earth is a reminder of our Matriarchal Wisdom and the sacredness of women as life-givers, water and seed carriers, and the protectors of our children. It is a reminder to honor and respect our relationship to the land and bodies of water that come from our first mother- Mother Earth.

Four Sacred Medicines (2019)

This series represents the four sacred medicines: Tobacco, Sage, Sweetgrass and Cedar. "Tobacco is the first plant that the Creator gave to First Nations Peoples. It is the main activator of all the plant spirits. Three other plants, sage, cedar and sweetgrass, follow tobacco, and together they are referred to as the Four Sacred Medicines. The Four Sacred Medicines are used in everyday life and in ceremonies. All of them can be used to smudge with, though sage, cedar and sweetgrass also have many other uses. It is said that tobacco sits in the eastern door, sweetgrass in the southern door, sage in the western door and cedar in the northern door. Elders say that the spirits like the aroma produced when we burn tobacco and the other sacred medicines. Traditional people say that tobacco is always first. It is used as an offering for everything and in every ceremony. “Always through tobacco”, as the saying goes.

Source: https://www.northernc.on.ca/indigenous/four-sacred-medicines/

Seven Generations of Fertility (2022) Acrylic on Canvas 6’ x 3’

This painting is part of a collection from "Sacred Bundles Unborn" (Morningstar Mercredi & The FireKeepers, Thiesen Press 2021). In response to the forced and coerced sterilization of Indigenous women and girls through a dark history of colonialism and eugenics, the collection of stories, poetry, artwork, and academic articles focuses on the protection of our sacred bundles and seven generations of fertility. This painting includes branches of berries stemming from the ovum, representing the seeds of creation. The gold leaf ovaries represent our greatest resource; our children and those yet to come. The seven hummingbirds remind us of the seven sacred teachings and the importance of culturally safe healthcare that including Love, Respect, Bravery, Honesty, Humility, Truth and Wisdom.

Dreaming of Lilacs

COVID-19 has been a difficult time. We have been separated from our families and friends. It has posed new challenges of isolation, health, and social-economic disparities and has highlighted structural inequities and the need for anti-racism throughout the BIPOC movement. This painting represents my own loss throughout the pandemic and overcoming grief, loss, disconnection, and depression.

"You were sent to us for a moment in time

A spark of the greater spirit

A reminder of love, life, and beauty

A true miracle.

The sweet scent of spring

I pray for creator's help to heal and open my heart to love

and live again.

I will dream of lilacs.

I will dream of you and your spirit." - J. Leason

Teepee Teaching (2018)

If one pole was erected on its own, it would fall to the ground. Therefore, we are taught to lean on one another with respect, humility, happiness, love, faith, kinship, awareness, gratitude, clear/openmindedness, sharing, strength, hope, protection, and good childrearing. The interconnections, relationships, and intersections grounded in these 15 poles/values create a foundation for a safe and ethical space of loving care, kindness, conversations, and engagement.