“In his account, Mathieu André gives equal attention to Innus' ancestral beliefs and sacred rituals and the “new religion” brought by the Catholic missionaries. He even seems to contradict himself, since the Church condemned traditional rituals, seeing them as satanic. Nowadays, some Innu converts do indeed think that there was something pernicious about the rituals of old. We wanted to express this opposition of beliefs and practices while showing that it could have been possible for the two belief systems to exchange with each other without self-destruction.”
ASHUKAN

Jean-Pierre Fontaine and Isabelle Courtois have imagined a clash between spiritualities that still leaves a deep rift in the hearts of many people nowadays. Mathieu André's inside knowledge of Innu sacred ceremonies enabled him to convey in written form a legacy passed down via oral tradition, and threatened with disappearance after the missionaries arrived. The Ashukan bas-relief, with its fractured aspect, is a clear expression of this heart-wrenching rift. Can the two halves of a broken circle become whole again someday?