Indigenous Talking Stick - Untying Memory

Some stories should not be embellished.

Unravelling Memory is a work that is intentionally rawer. It evokes the reality of Indigenous residential schools, the silences they imposed, and the wounds that continued to be passed down long after they closed.

Handcrafted by Ilnu artisan Dave Verreault-Thisselmagan, this talking stick serves as a reminder that reconciliation is not about forgetting the past. It first requires that the truth be spoken, heard, and transmitted.

Residential schools separated Indigenous children from their families and communities, and their consequences continue to affect families and generations today. 

The spirit of the object

Unlike Towards the Light, this work intentionally does not seek softness.

The brown leather, the exposed wood, and the more stripped-back composition represent the raw aspect of history.

Unfiltered.
Without artifice.
Without seeking to make beautiful what was not.

Instead, the work places the truth at the center.

The orange fabric calls to mind the children who were sent to residential schools and echoes the story of Phyllis Webstad, whose orange shirt was taken away when she was a child at residential school. 

The knot

At the center of the stick is an essential element: a piece of knotted fabric.

This knot represents the wounds, the stifled words, and the traumas passed down from one generation to the next.

But it does not only represent what is knotted.

It also represents what can be unraveled.

The talking stick thus becomes an integral part of the work’s message. It recalls the importance of allowing speech to return where silence has long been imposed.

To speak.

To listen.

To name.

To transmit.

And, little by little, to undo the intergenerational knots.

The symbolism

In this work, every element remains intentionally visible.

The wood retains its natural character. The brown leather wraps around the stick without entirely masking its material. The orange fabric is knotted rather than perfectly arranged.

This lack of aesthetic perfection is intentional.

It is a reminder that before reconciliation must come truth.

The talking stick thus becomes the symbol of a voice reclaiming its place: that of the survivors, the families, the descendants, and the generations who continue to bear the consequences of this history.

Unravelling Memory means recognizing what has been passed down in pain so that it no longer needs to be passed down in silence.

Materials

• Natural wood
• Brown leather
• White fur
• Knotted orange fabric
• Natural feathers
• Orange and white glass beads
• Assembly done entirely by hand

A unique creation

This work was conceived as a one-of-a-kind piece.

It was not created to replicate history, but to give it substance, a presence, and above all a space for dialogue.

The natural variations in the wood, leather, feathers, and other materials are an integral part of its character.

Handmade in Quebec by an Ilnu artisan.