Indigenous Brilliance
Stories hold the incredible power to heal wounds, connect people, and bridge generations.
We acknowledge we operate on the traditional, ancestral, unceded, and occupied territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
The Indigenous Brilliance Collective (IBC) was established on the traditional, ancestral, unceded, and occupied territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Today, our collective members are grateful to operate from the stolen lands of many nations including the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh), Wet’suwet’en, and qiqéyt (Qayqayt) peoples. We recognize the long history of dispossession of each of these lands, and we honour the resistance and good work being done to bring these truths to the surface. We hope that this work we are doing together will honour and be a part of our own calls to reconciliation.
IBC is a collective dedicated to celebrating Indigenous women, trans, queer, and Two-Spirit storytellers. Founded in 2018, the collective was created to amplify the voices of Indigenous writers through a quarterly reading series. While we now only host an annual reading series, IBC has continued to expand our programming by hosting both in-person and online events, readings, book clubs, workshops, and more, always with the goal to amplify Indigenous storytellers. Through it all, our programming remains centred around our core values of feminist Indigenous resurgence, community engagement, and liberation in art and literature. As our founding members said:
“We believe that this is an incredibly important time to be centering Indigenous stories and to be shining the spotlight on the brilliance that exists in our communities”.
We hope that our work as the IBC will continue to reflect this belief as we come together with a shared vision of Indigenous resurgence: a resurgence that exists through the act of making space for ourselves and each other, through community building, and through the radical act of living and loving. We want to celebrate Indigenous stories and the different ways we think, share, and perform. We hope that our work will allow us to come together to stand behind those voices while we’re standing with each other.
Keep up to date with our events, workshops, podcast episodes and more on this page and on our Instagram page.
What are the values our work is grounded in?
1. Feminist Indigenous resurgence
As our founding members wrote, we center “resurgence that exists through the act of making space for ourselves and each other, through community building, and through the radical act of living and loving.”
2. Intergenerational knowledge sharing
We value lineage and knowledge sharing across generations. The IB collective is currently in its “second generation” and we grow from the founding generation, their wisdom and work, in the work we do today.
3. Honouring our history
Read about the IB creation story, and get to know more about our first generation collective members (Patricia Massy, Jónína Kirton, Jessica Johns, jaye simpson, and Emily Dundas Oke). We are grateful to you all for setting us up to do this work, and hope to honour your work and story.
4. Collectivity and collaboration
5. Community engagement
Based on the unceded, unsurrendered and stolen territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓ əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱ wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh
(Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations; our work is rooted in celebrating, engaging, and centering women/trans/2S/queer people and communities across turtle island (online and offline).
6. Accessibility
7. Representation
The IB collective aims to engage, uplift, and prioritize marginalized voices within the Indigenous arts and literature community. This includes, but is not limited to honoring our women, trans, queer, 2S, disabled, mentally ill, and rural communities/kin.
8. Humility
We acknowledge that we will always do our best to represent and support the diverse experiences of Indigeneity, and that we can/will always grow toward doing better. We welcome models of accountability required to keep us on a path of doing good work when we falter.
9. Global Indigeneity
Beyond the celebration of Indigenous women/trans/2S/queer stories, art, and creation from across Turtle Island, our collective celebrates the brilliance of our Black and Brown, POC kin from across the globe. Indigenous Brilliance celebrates the brilliance of POC who share collective ancestral ties to the lands and traditions of the place their ancestors are from, and/or from where they have been displaced. We recognize the specificity of place, and hope our platform(s) allow for complex understandings of how imperialism and colonialism manifests in anti-Indigeneity in various forms, and the resistance shown.
10. Sovereignty and liberation in art and literature
Latest Events and Projects
Indigenous Brilliance Winter Reading
On January 28 at 3:30 pm PST, join Indigenous Brilliance for a virtual winter reading featuring a...
Earthseed Book Club Session 3: Resilient & Interdependent
Session 3 of Earthseed Book Club focused on the Emergent Strategy principles of...
Indigenous Brilliance presents Earthseed Book Club Session 2: Adaptive & Non-Linear
Intentional Adaption asks us to question how we respond and adapt to change. This is the heart of Emergent Strategy- being intentional on how we grow and adapt to change impacts the outcomes we see in our lives.
Indigenous Brilliance presents Earthseed Book Club: Fractals!
Indigenous Brilliance & Art Ecosystem presents Earthseed Book Club, a youth-led literary project which explores community building and liberation through Black & Indigenous speculative fiction and political theory.
Indigenous Brilliance Podcast – Season 2 Ep. 3: Intentional composting is creative community care process
In the final episode of season 2, Art Ecosystem members Lexi and Karmella chat with friend and community member Kílila Raine (Squamish Nation) about transformative justice, harm reduction and accountability processes in the context of self care, community care, renewal and growth.
Indigenous Brilliance Podcast – Season 2 Ep. 2: Futurism & Cyber Gardening
In Episode 2: Futurism and Cyber Gardening, co-hosts Karmella Benedito De Barros and Lexi Mellish Mingo chat with Whitney French of Hush Harbour Press about the concept of cyber gardening and creating connections and community both online and offline.
Origin Story
Indigenous Brilliance (IB) is rooted in and takes place on the unceded and ancestral territories of the xwməθkwəy̓ əm (Musqueam), səlilwəta’Ɂɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and Sḵwx̱ wú7mesh (Squamish) First Nations peoples colonially known as Vancouver, BC.
As a collective, we believe that this is an incredibly important time to be centering Indigenous and Black stories, and to be shining the spotlight on the brilliance that exists in our communities. In the past, IB has hosted a number of in-person and online events, readings, and workshops focused on our collective values. Throughout the years, IB has grown and adapted to reflect what Indigeneity means to us on Turtle Island, by exploring what our work looks like in conversation with global Indigeneity and the global entanglement of colonialism and imperialism. We celebrate our own Indigeneity, while also creating opportunities for solidarity building across 2SQTBIPOC experiences.
The Indigenous Brilliance Collective grew out of the shared desire of Massy Books owner Patricia Massy and Room Magazine editorial board members Jónína Kirton and Jessica Johns to raise the voices of Indigenous women, Two Spirit, and queer writers. Later, jaye simpson, Emily Dundas Oke, Karmella Benedito De Barros, Lexi Mellish Mingo, Madeson Singh, Meghan Eaker, Tara Preissl, Emma Jeffery, natasha gautier, and Lacy Peterson joined the ever growing collective. Each member offers IB an invaluable set of skills, ideas, perspective, and energy.
Collaborations and Partnerships
Issue 44.3 Indigenous Brilliance
Edited by the Indigenous Brilliance Collective, Room Magazine Issue 44.3 features work celebrating Black and Indigenous brilliance in multi mediums. As the first full colour Room Magazine print, issue 44.3 features beautiful artwork from various artists including Ocean Hyland, Whess Harmann and many more.
The poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction in these pages will grip and still your heart, transport you somewhere new, and conjure whole other worlds to lose yourself in.
We are honoured that this issue leaves us with a brilliant BackRoom interview with Senaqwila Wyss, who shares visions of the territories from which our work is carried out. We are thrilled to share a glimpse into her expansive practice, and look forward to continue to learn from her.
Get your own copy of Issue 44.3 Indigenous Brilliance.
Read the Letter From The Editors, featuring interviews with all the Indigenous Brilliance team regarding this special issue.
Black History Month
For the month of February, the Indigenous Brilliance collective and Room Magazine shared weekly content on the @indigenousbrilliance Instagram page, as well as over here on the Room website. During this month, collective member Karmella led the exploration of various topics regarding Black, and Afro-Indigenous histories, realities and futurisms.
Read the Room Magazine Black History Month 2021 content
Through interviews, curated media recommendations and explorative blog posts related to the topic of Black/Afro-Indigeneity on Turtle Island, this series is one to check out anytime during the year.
- What is Black-Native / Afro-Indigenous?: Written by Karmella Benedito De Barros
- Black/Afro-Indigenous media and reading list: Written by Karmella Benedito De Barros and Jessica Johns
- Interview with artist and filmmaker Lexi Mellish Mingo: Written by Karmella Benedito De Barros and Lexi Mellish Mingo
- What is Hogan’s Alley?: Written by Lexi Mellish Mingo and Karmella Benedito De Barros
- Black and Indigenous solidarity (interview with Nic Wayara): Written by Karmella Benedito De Barros
The Indigenous Brilliance Podcast
The Indigenous Brilliance Podcast features innovative and exciting episodes, highlighting the multi-disciplinary voices of Indigenous women, Two-Spirit, and Indigiqueer artists and creatives as we discuss cultural resurgence in Indigenous arts.
Hosted by Vancouver local creatives jaye simpson and Karmella Benedito De Barros, the Indigenous Brilliance Podcast carves out space for the celebration and witnessing of this beautifully visionary community.
Keep up to date with our new and archived episodes on the Room Magazine website. If you are, or know someone who might be interested in featuring on the podcast, send an email to karmella@roommagazine.com. We will continue to schedule episodes through 2022 and are welcoming submissions and recommendations for future interviews.
The Spirit Within
Amanda Hugon
Alder, horse hair, Abalone, Acrylic, copper wire.
11” L x 9” W x 6 ¼”D
Strength is portrayed in this two-spirited mask. She is a warrior. Her spirit is represented on the forehead, and serves as a reminder of the journey she has taken to get where she is today. She has some scars and natural defects, but her beauty and strength shine through. The abalone inlay represents pride and a high ranking woman in society. Her earrings, a symbol of wealth and identity.
Photo credit: Jessie Lane Kirton