Acknowledgements

Many people helped bring Grand Theft Terra Firma to life. This project was the result of 20 years of learning about colonization from Indigenous peoples. As settler artists, Sandra and David have been grateful to engage with an informal and diverse Indigenous advisory who generously shared their perspectives. The project would not have been possible without the influence and involvement of Indigenous thinkers, leaders, artists, friends, and neighbours.

The artists respectfully acknowledge the opportunity to discuss the project with members of the Stó:lō Xyolhmet S’olhetawtxw Sq’éq’ip House of Respect Caretaking Committee on several occasions.

The artists’ understanding of events that unfolded in Stó:lō Téméxw was shaped by extensive research and by conversations with both Indigenous and xwelítem (settler) thinkers including: Grand Chief Xa:yslemtel Hi’yolemtel Clarence Pennier and Nancy Pennier; Dr. Naxaxalhts’i Albert Sonny McHalsie; Dr. David Schaepe; Dr. Keith Thor Carlson; Dr. Wenona Hall; T’xwelátse Herb Joe and Helen Joe; Dr. John Lutz; Susan Lewis; Curtis Paul and Jacqueline Louis; Bill Quinn; suiki?st Pauline Terbasket; Laura Schneider; Kelly Terbasket; Larry Commodore; Sakej Ward; Robyn Heaslip; Josette Jim; Dr. Chad Reimer; Hugh Brody.

IN THE GALLERY: The photographs were created in collaboration with the actors, many of whom are friends and neighbours. This project would not have been possible without their willingness to engage both the subject and the camera. White actors are dressed in period costumes, while the Indigenous actors wear their own contemporary clothes, underscoring the impact of past events on the present day.
Character Portraits: Joel Bourne, Dylan Coulter, Bill Damer, Nial Harrison-Morry, Margaret Meunier, Jaret Penner, Robert Semeniuk, Bobby Sutton.
Screenshots: Larry Commodore, Bernie George, Timothy Gray, Bob Gordon, Fred Jackson, Nicole LaRock, Evelyn McHalsie, Ocean Morgan, Vic Nickerson, Curtis Paul, Gerard Paul, Hailey Paul, Jeffrey Paul, Bart Phillips, Kameron Sherwood, Matt Tebbutt, Donna Tillotson, Alisha Trottier, Jordan Trottier, Owen Trottier, Myrna Williams, Darren Witzel. Homeland Security: Calvin Douglas, Darwin Douglas, Kaila Mussell, Carrielynn Victor. The Few Good Whites: Garrison Bateman, Racheal Bateman, Cynthia Berge, Daniel Berge, Chris Smith, Jess Smith.
For recreating the photo-studio backdrop: Shannon Bettles Reimer and Brenda Paterson. For crafting the Thou Shalt Not Steal tapestry: Terry Ann Stowell. For gameplay graphics: Shaun Friesen. For Halq’eméylem translation: Strang Burton and Muriel Roberts. Special thanks to the Chilliwack Archives: Shannon Bettles Reimer, Paul Ferguson, Jane Lemke.

ON THE INTERNET: Creating this website brought a few more brilliant collaborators onboard including Ostwelve aka Ronnie Dean Harris aka Malō:yhleq, Donna Gabriel Robins, Nancy Pennier, Lesley Gunning, Penny Carnrite, David Williams, and the web team at Trapeze Communications.

Grand Theft Terra Firma is an unflinching redress of Canada’s colonial narrative. By combining contemporary popular culture with historical source material, artists David Campion and Sandra Shields disrupt the celebratory mythology of nation building and invite us to critically evaluate our own continued and complicated relationship to colonial practices.

As the title suggests, the exhibition appropriates the language of digital gaming to reframe the settlement of Canada as a complex heist. Specifically, the title refers to Grand Theft Auto, a series of popular video games considered highly controversial, in part because they require players to commit violent and immoral acts to achieve gaming success. Borrowing from this, the exhibition unfolds as a strategy guide to an imaginary video game based on historical events occurring within Stó:lō Téméxw, now more commonly known as British Columbia’s Fraser Valley.

Text and image come together to challenge the moral authority of the settler narrative as the artists employ common elements from gaming strategy guides to structure this body of work. Photographic portraits introduce us to the “players.” These characters draw on the archetypes of Canadian history, their fictional backstories describing their roles in the colonial project while simultaneously connecting our national history to the global conquests of the British Empire. Photographs of artifacts from museum collections are presented as the “power objects” required by the characters for game play, and a series of digitally composed tableaux mimic “screen shots.” These photographic vignettes, achieved in collaboration with Stó:lō community members and actors of settler heritage, evoke the ongoing impacts of past events. As physical interruptions in a primarily photographic exhibition, the photo- studio backdrop, the outhouse, and the desk remind us that the writing of history is often a matter of perspective; how we describe and relate to the story depends on where we are standing.

The artists’ use of gaming, satire, and humour provides entry points into difficult knowledge. These strategies encourage us to consider how history can become mythologized in its telling. The exhibition thus supports discussions around emergent notions of personal awareness and responsibility in the process of decolonization, and emphasizes the potential for art to promote critical discourse in divided societies.

Laura Schneider, Curator

About The Artists

David Campion and Sandra Shields have made a practice of appropriating pop forms as a means of sharing uncomfortable knowledge. They tackle long-term projects grounded in years of research and engagement. Their early collaborations produced three books and garnered a BC Book Prize. More recently they have created installations for public galleries. Their current focus is on imagining a different future and bringing others along in considering possibilities for meaningful change. Their work is motivated by the possibility of bridging divisions. Sandra comes to the subject of colonization as the great-granddaughter of early Alberta settlers. David approaches from the vantage of a recent British immigrant who grew up in southern Africa during the era that saw colonial governments fall. They live in a trailer park on the Leq’á:mél First Nation Reserve near Chilliwack, BC.

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