Inuk Woman Wins National Award for Memorial Quilt

Memorial quilt depicts strength in times of hardship
"Pillars of Strength" memorial quilt

“Pillars of Strength”
(Credit: cbc.ca)

Veronica Puskas, who grew up in Nunavut’s Kivalliq region, won Quilt Canada’s 2014 prize for Excellence in Work by a first-time exhibitor. Her award-winning artwork “Pillars of Strength” is based on a photograph that depicts two figures — her mother and grandmother — standing on the bank of the Meliadine River near Rankin Inlet in 1950.

Artist Veronica Puskas with "Nuliavuk"

Veronica Puskas with “Nuliavuk”
(Credit: cbc.ca)

The quilt, says Puskas, honors her grandmother’s life. It also provided her with the opportunity to reflect on the relationship between immediate family, ancestry, land and home. “I hope to encourage people that are going through difficult times that through doing some artwork or doing something to make something beautiful is very cathartic,” she said. “It helps you deal with the emotions and the hurt while doing it.”

Detail of "Pillars of Strength" memorial quilt

Detail of “Pillars of Strength”
(Credit: cbc.ca)

The traditional lifestyle of indigenous peoples living near Rankin Inlet, a culturally and historically pivotal center for Kivalliq, was disrupted in the early 17th century and changed forever with the coming of the Hudson Bay Company in 1717. Later, settler-run mining projects in the area became a main source of income for indigenous residents, as power politics shifted and traditional ways of life became less and less a possibility for those who wished to continue living off the land. The Rankin Inlet Mine was shut down in 1962, leaving its workers (70 to 80 percent of whom were Inuit) unemployed.

While Puskas’ family history may seem specific and remote, it has echoes in the lives of many people who now call North America home.

While Puskas’ family history may seem specific and remote, it has echoes in the lives of many people who now call North America home. While this continent supports approximately 529 million people (according to a 2008 census), the vast majority trace their personal ancestry back to other parts of the world. While the settling of North America displaced and destroyed the lives of many indigenous cultures, the people who came from abroad were also alienated from their own homelands.

It is for this reason that Puskas’ quilt has such a far-reaching resonance. “Pillars of Strength” reminds us all that we are here because our ancestors struggled to survive, not because they were under any delusion that they might live forever, but because they believed that their children might have a better life than they had. We are all born of countless love stories — of parents for their children, of individuals for their communities and traditions, of strangers helping strangers — each one a pillar of strength upon which we each have knowingly or unknowingly built our lives.

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5 Responses to Inuk Woman Wins National Award for Memorial Quilt

  1. avatar Veronica Puskas says:

    Well said. It was because of past abuse and the traumatic experiences of it that I chose to honour Mom and Gramma, who provided a lot of love and support. The actual photograph shows them using raggy leggings and Mom with raggy woolen trousers, that by making them look beautiful with traditional clothes was my way of honouring them.

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    • avatar Zoë Byrne (Editor in Chief, SevenPonds) says:

      Thank you for your beautiful quilt and comment! Thank you for also enlightening our readers about your reasons for its creation and a description about the original image!

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  2. avatar Veronica Puskas says:

    Well said. It was because of past abuse and the traumatic experiences of it that I chose to honour Mom and Gramma, who provided a lot of love and support. The actual photograph shows them using raggy leggings and Mom with raggy woolen trousers, that by making them look beautiful with traditional clothes was my way of honouring them.

    Report this comment

  3. avatar tvgate says:

    Veronica Puskas, who grew up in Nunavut s Kivalliq region, won an award at Quilt Canada s national juried show for a quilt based on a photo of her mother and grandmother at the Meliadine River near Rankin Inlet in 1950.

    Report this comment

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