Sadi-Rose Vaxvick is working to update the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery’s Indigenous Heritage Collection as the institution’s first Indigenous artist- and curator-in-residence, a position that combines curatorial work with artistic practice and community engagement.
Vaxvick, who is Nêhiyaw and Saulteaux registered on Ochapowace First Nations, graduated in 2023 with a Bachelor of Indigenous Fine Arts and began her residency at the museum in May.
“I’m curating the Heritage Museum with the Indigenous heritage collections that were brought in through donations or other ways from people in the early 1950s to the early 2000s,” Vaxvick said. “It’s quite a lot. A lot to go through.”
The curatorial process has involved working with elders to properly identify items in the collection, including not just their tribe, but the general purposes and some of the traditions behind each artifact.
“We’ve had a few elders come in and help us identify some specific designs that would possibly belong to the different tribes of Treaty Four area,” she explained.
Vaxvick has already completed updates to the large display case, incorporating red broadcloth underneath sacred items created by ancestors.
“My favorite pieces are the Cree and Saulteaux old beadwork,” she said. “I appreciate the floral motifs and the geometric designs.”
The collection also includes Lakota works identified by Dr. Claire Thompson during her Wakšúpi exhibit, providing connections to historical events and relationships with the Wood Mountain area.
Beyond curatorial duties, Vaxvick is conducting repatriation work with the collections — a complex but necessary aspect of her position that involves returning sacred items and human remains to their proper communities.
“I feel really honored to be working here in the collections and I know the spirits are welcoming and I just feel a huge energy when I am working with them,” Vaxvick said. “A lot of things with this position, but it’s needing to be done.”
The residency program, developed through years of consultation with the local community, divides Vaxvick’s time between studio work and collection responsibilities. She maintains a studio space in the art gallery alongside other artist-in-residence Matt Froese.
“I’m really enjoying working here and creating connection with the community and all my coworkers and I have my studio in the Art Gallery and working with other artists in residence that have their studios there,” she said. “It’s a nice place to feel that belonging.”
Vaxvick’s artistic practice includes painting, beading, and printmaking. She previously created the Seven Sacred Grandfather Teachings, a public art installation outside the MJMAG themed around Plains Cree teachings.
Her residency continues through February, with plans for school programming and community engagement alongside the curatorial and artistic work.
More information about Vaxvick’s work is available at sadirosevaxvick.ca, and details about museum programs can be found at mjmag.ca
