A Rama artist is living out her artistic dreams of directing and illustrating films.
Chief Lady Bird, 30, was only two years old when she first got into art. She has always loved drawing and creating visual art.
“It’s just a part of who I am,” she said. “I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t drawing.”
When Chief Lady Bird learned that she could go to school for art and pursue a career out of it, she made it her career and life goal.
“I’m a dreamer,” she said. “I love immersing myself in film, animations, memorizing things, and watching how that kind of stuff worked.”
Chief Lady Bird attended OCAD University from 2011 to 2015 to study drawing and painting.
“In my final year, one of my teachers set me up on Adobe Photoshop and taught me a couple of things,” she explained. “She encouraged me to combine digital with painting.”
Chief Lady Bird recently illustrated and directed the Heart Like A Pow Wow animated short film that premiered on CBC Gem as part of the How To Lose Everything series.
Christa Couture created the series of Indigenous animated short films that explores personal stories of loss with all five episodes available in English, French, and the Indigenous language.
“She emailed me one day in 2020,” Chief Lady Bird explained. “When she described it to me, I was in for sure.”
The whole series is about grief from an Indigenous perspective, Chief Lady Bird explains. It touches on the impact of colonization, genocide, and inter-generational trauma. Specifically, Heart Like A Pow Wow is about the loss of a child.
Poet and musician Tara Williamson wrote the poem that goes with Chief Lady Bird's illustrations in the film.
“When I listen to it, I know it’s specifically about child loss,” Chief Lady Bird explains. “I think what I saw when I heard that was the story of a young spirit going home through ceremony back into the arms of our ancestors.”
While the story of the film is sad, Chief Lady Bird says it’s also beautiful and hopeful.
“I think that this story will maybe help people who are experiencing child loss or are struggling with some sort of grief in that regard,” she said. “It is comforting to have that relationship with our ancestors and be in communication with spirit.”
Chief Lady Bird says she is grateful for the chance to work on Heart Like A Pow Wow.
“It helped me expand my art practice,” she said. “I’m grateful to be able to share stories that help our community and make people feel seen and heard.”
Chief Lady Bird is currently working on her fourth children’s book about American westernized stories from an Indigenous perspective.
“It’s really humorous and different from the books I’ve done with publishers here in Canada,” she said. “I’m super excited and just love making children’s books.”
You can find Lady Bird's already published books at Manticore Books in downtown Orillia.
