The Spirit of the Flame

“It’s about connection. We’re all these individual people in different bodies but I think, somehow, gathering around a fire [offers] a comfort and a knowing of a greater power that we’re a part of – the sky, the water, the land.” – Aaron Rice 1

Fire.Heart.Spirit by Kanien' keha:ka artist Aaron Rice began as a multidisciplinary installation. At the centre of a firepit Rice positioned three upright elk-hide drums, encircling them with a ring of thirteen river rocks representing the thirteen moons in a year. Cedar leaves were spread around the pit and underneath the rocks, as projected videos illuminated the surface of each drum.

The videos, here reimagined as a single channel piece, flash between scenes of a campfire and water rushing over river rocks. Human hands light a smudge, fill a bowl with water, and braid grass. These personal ceremonies evoke a continuous and reciprocal relationship with the earth, the cleansing properties of the fire and water we see repeatedly suggestive of a person's healing.

Like many others, I grew up around the sacred fire. This installation brings me to an evocative place in my memories where I gathered with others – to connect, share food, laugh, and grieve.

During my grandmother’s wake, in the days leading up to the funeral, our family held a sacred fire ceremony over four days. My community showed up for us in our grief, and I felt at peace when I sat up around the fire at night. For the first time, in what felt like a very long time, I felt connected to who I was, where I was, and with whom I was standing or sitting beside.

It cleansed my spirit, in a way.

A woman at our Health Centre in Tobique is well-known for her connection to the spirit world. She specializes in physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. Last summer, I asked her to call in my grandmother. One of the messages I received from her is that she hopes I always carry the warmth and calmness of the sacred fire.

This is what Rice remind us of Fire.Heart.Spirit. In these moments around the fire, the human spirit becomes [connected] to the spirit of the flame – of the drum – and of the land.

The artist speaks of the fire as a 'mesmerizing' space, where thoughts become clear or contained; that’s how I feel when I’m around the fire. Even if I’m gathered there for unpleasurable reasons, though it was a very dark time, I felt at ease around that fire and allowed these feelings to hold me in my grief.