SMUDGE: [definition] “A practice used by many Indigenous people involving the burning of medicine plants and immersing ourselves in the smoke. It is used to cleanse, bring good energy, dispel the negative, connect with our ancestors and the Earth.”

Two generations, the past and future. The strength of tradition, the isolation of the contemporary world. Joined by blood, joined by Earth. Can this connection overcome the emptiness?

In Smudge, Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo shared the traditional Haudenosaunee thanksgiving address with Marshall Kahente Diabo. “I just handed them over to my child and said ‘How do you live those, those movements in another environment’. And so they came up with their own altered movements, still remembering the Ohèn:ton Kariwatéhkwen, but maybe not quite as deeply, being so disconnected. This is our presentation of two worlds, and two worlds together.”