the Blood reservation and Blackfoot ancestry flow constantly through her work. In 2004 she created kuto'iis ("blood"), which consists of hundreds of small knotted balls of cloth attached to a wall, painted in red ochre. Similar to body of land in its chaotic placement of the knots, each knot signifies a blood clot. The repetitive pattern and ritualized act of creating the knots has been described as a "re-collection of stories, the sounds of language and song, of home." From 2007 to 2008 HeavyShield studied Blood beadwork in the collections of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the Royal Ontario Museum and the Glenbow Museum. Studying the museums classification systems of these objects, she noticed they were stored in rows of drawers or on shelves and often with only small catalog tags. During this study she also thought about the people (mainly women) who created the objects, people whom she and her family are related to genetically and historically. One piece that came from this study is hours (2007); a book, with no text, consisting of twelve bound pages of woven white seed beads. Christian symbolism HeavyShield's Catholic education and the importance of Christianity on the Blood Reserve continues to appear in her work. Drawings and sculptures inspired by the wimples worn by the Grey Nuns appear in the mid-1990s with heart hoof horn as well as addresses of prayer in the installation piece now I lay me down, showing semi-abstract fonts placed on a wall reflecting Catholic rituals and prayers. now I lay me down was a part of her 1994 exhibit "Into the Garden of Angels" at The Power Plant in Toronto. Feminism In the 1990s HeavyShield was one of the fore-runners in the Canadian feminist art movement. Numerous works during the decade reflected on femininity and womanhood. In 1993 she created sisters: a circle of six pairs of high heels with the toes pointed outward. The installation, representing HeavyShield and her five sisters, symbolizes the strength of women. Utilizing shoes again in 1994's she: a room full of women she brings together twelve pairs of women's and girls' shoes spray painted matte black. This piece is the first time that HeavyShield utilized her own words (eventually bringing her poetry into future work) with framed black and white panels over each pair of shoes, representing "everywoman". Landscape Growing up in southern Alberta, HeavyShield lived near two rivers: the Oldman