'Scarcity & Abundance'

Scarcity & Abundance

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The First People of this land knew and understood very well how the life-cycles of the four legged ones affected one another. The long lines that run throughout the piece depict this connection of everything to everything else. One such closely connected pair is the lynx (pizheu) and the hare (waboose). In the picture, one can see these two framing a large circle --Mother Earth. In the centre of the earth is rendered a lake and forested shoreline depicting the wilds where the lynx and hare reside.  Underneath and to the left of the water there are seven short lines of descending heights. This represents the seven-year cycle of the “boom-and-bust” nature of the hare population, which in turn, determines the number of lynx since they rely on the hare as a staple food. When there are many hare, there are more lynx; few hare, fewer lynx. Theirs is truly the story of ‘scarcity and abundance.’