The Last Post Fund is pleased to announce that we will be working with Cree artist Jason Carter on the production of a series of symbols to be inscribed on tombstones placed through the Last Post Fund Indigenous Veterans Initiative (IVI). The Fund is honoured to be collaborating with Carter, one of Canada’s most exciting and accomplished contemporary Indigenous visual artists, celebrated for both his paintings and his carvings. Jason Carter lives and works in Edmonton, Alberta and is a member of the Little Red River Cree Nation.

Offering Indigenous Veteran’s families a choice of symbols allows us to provide a culturally respectful Initiative that is consistent with the Canadian government’s efforts towards advancing reconciliation and renewing the relationship with Indigenous peoples. While families have the choice of requesting their own culturally relevant symbol, they often ask us to provide them with designs that they can choose from. Jason Carter will be providing the LPF with seven designs that can be used in perpetuity.

The seven designs will be a visual representation of the Seven Sacred Teachings, also known as the Seven Grandfather Teachings. Each teaching has a symbolic figure associated with it, which will serve as inspiration for the symbols created for the tombstones.

The Seven Sacred Teachings

1. To cherish knowledge is to know WISDOM (Beaver)
2. To know LOVE is to know peace (Eagle)
3. To honour all of Creation is to have RESPECT (Buffalo)
4. BRAVERY is to face the foe with integrity (Bear)
5. HONESTY also means “righteousness”: be honest first with yourself, in word and action (Kitch-Sabe – will be depicted by a feather)
6. HUMILITY is to know yourself as a sacred part of the Creation (Wolf)
7. TRUTH is to know all of these things (Turtle)

We will be unveiling the new catalogue of symbols in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!
To learn more about Jason Carter’s work, visit his website at: www.jasoncarter.ca