NO. I do not speak Cree.

NO. I do not speak Cree. is an exhibition of paintings and prints that expresses and examines artist Audrey Dreaver’s experience with Cree language loss and considers whether her inability to speak Cree means that she is less Cree. This exhibition examines the reasons her family lost their language, and the effect this cultural loss has on people like Dreaver, Crees who are not fluent in their own language. Exploring the emotional and psychological impact of language loss on identity, Dreaver’s work considers the current place of hybridity for many Cree peoples, in a new Cree paradigm, where fluency in their language is no longer an essential element of Cree survival.

Audrey Dreaver is Plains Cree and grew up in Prince Albert; her family comes from the Mistawasis and Ahtahkakoop Cree Nations of Saskatchewan. Dreaver received her MFA in painting from the University of Regina (2015) and her BFA in painting, printmaking, and sculpture, and her BA in Museum Studies (curating) from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Organized by MJM&AG. Curator, Jennifer McRorie. Essay by Peter Morin.