HMM 11 – 23 – 23 The Aunties Dandelion Special Episode

In place of our regular Hudson Mohawk Magazine programing, today we share this episode of The Aunties Dandelion podcast called “Auntie Katsitsionni Fox (Kanyen’kehà:ka) Filmmaker, Artist, Potter.”

Show Notes:
AUNTIE: Wa’tkwanonhweráton. Greetings, love, and respect from me to all of you. On this edition of The Aunties Dandelion we’re visiting with Katsitsionni Fox who is a beloved Bear Clan filmmaker, potter, and artist from our Kanyenkehà:ka territory of Akwesasne.

After decades of teaching Indigenous media and Rotinonhsyón:ni culture in her community’s schools – Katsitsionni has become an independent artist and filmmaker after receiving the Nia Tero’s storytelling fellowship in 2021 that unleashed her unique storytelling skills and perspective onto a global stage. She’s created two movies that aired on PBS with another on its way to completion and each film is profoundly tied to our Onkwehonwe teachings and practice.

KATSITSIONNI: I am not telling the story and disappearing. I’m going to be here. People come into the communities and try to harvest our stories and then it is not coming from the inside because they don’t have that connection and respect and that way of being I guess that comes from living in the community.

AUNTIE: Back in the day Katsitsionni trained at the acclaimed Institute for American Indian Arts in Santa Fe and her art installations and films have been featured at the Museum of Art and Design in New York, Musée Du Quai Branly in Paris, Everson Museum in Saracusev, the Ganondagan Seneca Museum and beyond.

Her art extends to new variations on traditional Rotinonhsyón:ni pottery and Katsitsionni attributes her prolific storytelling and art to the relationships she tends to in everything she does.

KATSITSIONNI: Whether its, you know, having a relationship with that clay. It is not something you just grab and slap together. For me I always greet that clay and I say “Nyá:wen” to the clay and I put my intention in there. What am I making? I have that intention. I share it with the clay before I start.

AUNTIE: I’m Kahstoserakwathe and we are Yéthi Nihsténha ne Tekarónyakénare. The Aunties Dandelion. We’re focused on revitalizing our communities through stories of land, language, and relationships. And we want to say Nyá:wenkò:wa – or big thanks – to Canada’s Indigenous Screen Office – teyonhkiwihstekénha – for making this podcast possible through their New Media fund.
Learn more about www.theauntiesdandelion.com