St. Michaels University School's English First Peoples 11 class visited the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria in October. Together they took in Bloodline, a large-scale photography and video exhibition put on by mixed ancestry artist Meryl McMaster.
“The students were engaged and enthusiastic, really connecting with the art and the experience,” said Nicole Carvalho, who co-led the trip with fellow teacher Carol Adamson.
McMaster, who is of Plains Cree/Métis, Dutch and British ancestry, uses her art to explore identity and connection to the land. The exhibition includes photographs from over a decade of her work, along with new video pieces that reimagine oral histories and family narratives. Through these works, McMaster reflects deeply on the lives and experiences of her Cree and Métis foremothers, waving together themes of memory, containment, erasure and self-determination.
In Bloodline, McMaster creates and performs within each scene herself — crafting elaborate props, costumes and settings that transform her into the protagonist of her own stories. The result is a striking visual dialogue about colonial histories, ancestral trauma, and reclamation through art.
Reflections on Identity and Connection
For students, the visit was both visually powerful and personally meaningful. As they moved through the gallery, they took notes and read the descriptions accompanying each piece, which offered insight into McMaster’s family history, artistic process, and the symbolic choices behind her imagery. The exhibit also felt timely, aligning closely with their recent classroom explorations of Indigenous identity leading up to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Students and teachers alike came away inspired by McMaster’s art and the conversations it encouraged about heritage, belonging, and creative expression. The experience offered more than an afternoon at the gallery—it deepened students’ understanding of the power of art to tell personal and collective stories. The themes they encountered in Bloodline will continue to resonate as they explore identity, culture, and reconciliation in their ongoing studies.
