A poetic and transformative journey of a young man’s physical, mental, and spiritual struggle to return to his son through the criminal justice system and the layers of colonization it represents. Created by animating spray-painted murals frame-by-frame, Cree artist Jesse Gouchey painted each frame on large outdoor surfaces over a period of seven years in numerous locations across Alberta and BC.  

Johnny Crow’s struggle speaks to the resilience of modern day warriors surviving and resisting bureaucratic battles of written laws vs oral traditions, and is contrasted by a haunting poem written and performed by spoken word artist Mitcholos Touchie.

Turtle Island agreements were to share, and nobody was conquered. Today’s resistance seeks to expose and correct treaty trickery, the dishonourable paper wars that are won and lost with the flick of a stock market digit.