Stitched Through the Generations

By City of Pickering - May 21, 2026

Public Art

Introduction

Stitched Through the Generations is a quilt-like tapestry of deer and moose hides that honours intergenerational knowledge and the Dish With One Spoon Treaty, weaving together family legacy, cultural relationships, and enduring connections to the land.

This artwork is located in the alcoves at the Dorsay Community & Heritage Centre.

About the Artwork

Stitched Through the Generations is a tapestry made of deer and moose hides. The tapestry is a combination of new and vintage hides which have been sewn together in the style of a quilt. The vintage hides are sourced from the collection of the artist's late great grandmother, Mary Commanda, who was a skilled leather worker. The tapestry is an homage to the Dish with One Spoon Treaty between the Anishinaabe and the Haudenosaunee which pre-dates first contact. This agreement is signified by a beaded belt which represents nation to nation relationships to maintain sovereignty and peacefully co-exist. The symbolism of this treaty is that the dish is the land, and the spoon represents the people using resources in the spirit of care and reciprocity. Rooted in intergenerational knowledge and memory, these hides embody enduring family legacies. Woven together with newer materials, they continue to hold strength and significance, carrying those histories forward into the present.

About the Artist

Emily Clairoux is registered with the Algonquins of Pikwàkanàgàn First Nation in Eastern Ontario, she is Anishinaabe & French. Emily comes from a long line of artists and teachers, with family history in the fur trade. She attended Toronto School of Art and Centennial College in their Fine Arts Diploma Programs, and later graduated from George Brown College’s Community Worker Program. Emily operates a small online boutique for beadwork, mittens, and digital illustration.

Emily’s artwork has been featured by the TTC Indigenous Peoples Month campaign (2023), Durham Region (public arts), Anishinabek Nation, and PFLAG (and more to come!). Emily has been involved in a number of public art and community-based research projects.