My name is Tlaa’kwaa, I am a Nuuchaanulth First Nations woman with Diitiidaht, Kyuquot, and Coast Salish roots. My father, Art Thompson is from the Ditidaht Tribe and my mother Cathy Leo is from the Kyuquot Tribe. I am an artist – a fashion designer, a writer and a graphic designer. I take my culture and intertwine it within my design.
My knowledge within the film industry and specifically in costume, allows me to assess the project and provide an honest representation of our Indigenous peoples.
1491 was quite the challenge. We filmed the following different Indigenous cultures: Amazon, Anishnaabe, Artic/Inuit, Argentina, Aztec/Mayan/Yucatan, Blackfoot, Brazil, Cahokia, Chile, Clovis, Cree, Incan, Iroquois, Kwaguilth, Nuuchahnulth, Peru, & Taos Pueblo. I spent 6 months researching and preparing for this production. I knew the level of responsibility I had with both the Indigenous culture and the film production. I spent countless hours going over archaeological dig images, museum archives and hundreds of photos in collections online and I hit the books at the library.
Each scene, each culture, every location taught me something new. I am a student throughout and have many teachers, show me the way, each colour, its purpose, every fold and happenings. Culture is very visual, and integral. In Peru, you can look at a man, and know where he is from and if he is married or single, just by his hat and the pattern of adornment. In Nuuchahnulth territory, if someone has their hair cut short, then they are in mourning and have just lost someone very close to them to the Spirit World. There are reasons for visual representation in indigenous culture; the short hair, the handkerchiefs, the markings.