Basement – The Painted House

On By ResaIn The Painted House

# Find Autumn Shaganash

It wasn’t until looking at the pics in the files, that I realized this face was of a missing indigenous woman.

Her name is Autumn, and she went missing in June, 2023.

#MMIW

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

This is a prevalent reality all across Canada.

The basement wreck room was dark and narrow. Autumn was the feature art. How sad is that?

There was a bar on the left on your way out.

  • A bar at the foot of the stairs
  • The bar
  • Behind the bar
  • Back end of the wreck room

Pics taken by Resa – August 11, 2024

Toronto Canada

The artists:

Bar Area: Flips & Andrea Cataro

Wreck Room: Wolf a:z & Stephanie Avery & Esky & Oblsk1

Autumn Artist:

Monkyi

@_monkyi

119 thoughts on “Basement – The Painted House”

    1. It is terrible.

      Civilized, much like most things, is a comparative value.

      Man’s inhumanity to man was born with man, and continues to today, everywhere in the world.

      It may never end. ❦🌹

  2. Thank you for sharing, Resa. So very sad. This is a situation in the US, too, although I think it’s known mainly out west around the reservations. I will share your post.

    On the lighter side, “wreck room” made me smile.

    1. It is a sad reality. Although I am aware of it, it is not something that is in the news a lot. Definitely an underrepresented crime.

      Thank you for sharing the post

      😂 I was wondering if anyone would pick up on wreck room!

    1. Thank you for your kind comment TOF!

      It is a sick thing going on here with our indigenous women.

      On a brighter note, I finished Charlotte in the kimono, and am almost finished Green eyes posing. You will probably see them this week!

    1. Why?…. exactly!
      I’m glad some artists paint art that is political or news awareness, etc.
      This is a topic that is reported only once in awhile.
      This is a great reminder for me.
      I love all the pretty art, and all the ugly art.(subjective). It can be a powerful tool.

    1. Agree! There is still hope, but not much, that she will be found alive.

      It seems the ones that are found are dead. The rest remain a mystery.

  7. Beautiful painting, and a terribly sad situation, hopefully things will improve over the years to come, some progress is being made but so slowly.

    1. Yes, I’m with you, Dave!

      The artist used her opportunity to paint in this house, to send a reminder of this horrid situation.

      Missing indigenous women has become an ongoing underreported crime in the news. The artist is trying to keep this issue forefront.
      I appreciate that.

    1. The risers are fab!
      I think some of the street artists have embraced a hippy message. Love and peace are words you often see painted on walls. xx

    1. You are welcome dear Meece!
      Like I said I didn’t realize what this portrait was all about, until I was editing the pics for this post.

      The artist could have just painted a pretty face, but she made it count a lot in this situation.
      xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

  16. So awful the way women are treated across the glob. At least you are showing her picture to all of us. I’m so sick of the disregard for women as human beings deserving of respect and normal human rights all because men decided they wanted to hunt us. I hope she found peace.

  18. Very sad. The other figure, the faceless one, looks like it is part of the same theme. There is the same red hand print and she has eagle feathers. Anyway, very interesting “room”, and the “Find Autumn Shaganash” idea of the featured art work does rip at the heart.

    1. OMG!
      Trent, you are so observant!
      Yes, my eyes zoomed over the rest. I saw the blank face, the red hand print and feathers, but did not put it all together.
      How crazy is that?

      It even says oil w/blood. I wonder if “oil” has something to do with oil fields near reservations? OR?
      I just added a more direct on pic of that wall to the end of the post. Had I been as observant as you, it would have been in the main body of the post.
      Thank you! 💔

      1. Funny what new eyes can see…
        “Oil” can be “The Man” and how “The Man” treats indigenous woman as disposable – we are giving you our oil and you are taking our blood. Just one interpretation, but I can think of many!
        I will have to come back and take a look at the full picture.

        1. Interesting interpretation, Trent. I am in agreeance.
          Street art can be powerful.
          Painting and music are the best universal communicators.
          No language needed.

          1. Oh, one thing I thought of – if you didn’t realize that the picture was a real person, a missing indigenous woman, until you were going through the photos later, it makes sense you didn’t connect the other photo to it. There was no reason to.
            Yes, painting and music – they are tied together in so many ways! They both have power that can’t be described in words.

            1. Yes, I can agree with that.
              Also, It didn’t help that there was a constant flow of neighbourhood denizens. Many had kids.

              Words are not needed, absolutely!

    1. No one knows. People are still looking.
      Like many aboriginal women who disappear, it is feared she is dead.
      Thank you for reading this.

  22. Beautiful and sad, Resa. The murder of Indigenous woman (and men) in the US is a huge problem too. We have over 4,000 unsolved cases. Your post is an appropriate counterpoint to respect touted on Indigenous People’s Day. Do we really care as nations if this is permitted to continue?

    1. Yeah…I almost didn’t post this, because I don’t enjoy making people sad. But really, that would have been wrong.

      As you say – Do we really care as nations if this is permitted to continue?

      Indigenous People’s Day is in June in Canada, so this is a serendipitous happening.

      4,000!!! Thant’s mind blowing.

      I hope the miracle of finding her alive happens. Based on the few that have been found, all dead, it would definitely be a miracle.

      Hugs to you, Diana!

      1. I noticed when visiting Victoria and Vancouver that there’s an effort being made in Canada to acknowledge injustices experienced by indigenous peoples and to remind us that we are living on stolen land. The US is very very very VERY slow to get there, probably not in my lifetime. That denial is all part of the same mindset that allows so many indigenous women to go missing. I’m glad you shared the photos. It’s important.

        1. We are trying. Well, some of us are.
          There is still a huge mess.

          We did give back a “massive” chunk of frozen land….. sort of, in 1999.
          It’s their territory to govern, but it is still part of the commonwealth of Canada.
          Kind of like the states, and the federal over all.
          Anyway it’s called Nunavut. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/nunavut
          On that basis, yes, the US is behind.
          The missing women is a plague. There is still no …anything … gathered about it. Is it Aboriginal men? White men? Some sort of sick ethnic racist anti-feminist vigilantism? All of those?
          Yes, I’m happy I posted this, too.
          Thank you so much, Diana!

  23. Hard to know what to say, Resa. I was unaware that there was an ongoing situation. Is it largely ignored by the authorities then? Living life in peace seems such a simple need. It’s heart-breaking to know how far this is from the truth for many.

    1. Yes, largely ignored.
      It seems subcultures are the ones highlighting this issue and keeping it alive, both in the USA and in Canada.
      Thank you for reading and commenting, Jo!

  24. Beautifully sad art, and even more sad is what happened to her and so many other Indigenous women in Canada. Thanks for giving her a presence Resa. ❤ xoxo

    1. Oh Debby,

      This is such a sad reality,100%.

      It was hard for me at first to post this. You know, I alwayd=swant to make people happy or keen, or something positive …not sad.

      However, you are right! If we hide it under a mat, it will never be solved.

      I am honoured to give her a presence.

      xoxoxo 💙💙💔

  25. That painted house is unblievable.

    Sorry about Autumn… I wonder whether we had a protected childhood, but I don’t recall so much violence in our young days… Maybe we were blind…

    1. Yes, I love it! A few more posts coming (after a couple of other posts)

      Well, we slept with an unlocked door. In the summer, the doors were open for air, and there were screen doors to keep out the mosquitoes and flies.

      An unlocked door today… no doors at all tomorrow.

      Brian, there have always been bad people.

      I think the problem is partly that world is overpopulated, crowded.

      More people in general = more bad people in general.

      The more crowding, the more nasty people become. I see it in my city.

      Then of course, resentments can run high in certain religions/societies where women are gaining ground on men.

      I’m such a chatter box. Thank you for the comment, and be well! 💙💔

      1. True on all counts. We locked doors at night. Africa was never quite safe. IN Pakistan, my parents got burglarised 8 times… LOL. Once they were even drugged. Never any harm though.
        And yes, crowds… I’m reading Peter Turchin’s “End times”. He says that one major factor to disintegration is Overpopulation of “elites” competing for the top jobs… One layer of “nasties”…
        You too 💕🤗

          1. Book just came out. I tend to balance “heavy” books by mystery or Sci-Fi… 😉
            It’s a choice. And legitimate. Daughter #2 decided at an early age not to have kids… Daughter #1 has 2. Balance…

              1. Yeah. It’s nice. One looks at grandkids with different eyes… And they’re sweet.
                Yes, all here. Not always been the case, as you can imagine with such nomad antecedents.

  27. Thank goodness I could reach your sad but beautiful post with this weak Internet connection in Lanzarote! She is so beautiful with such an unfortunate fate. However, thank you for sharing this forever heritage of this lovely girl. 🙏❤️🌹❤️🫂

    1. Yes, sad but beautiful.
      I hear what you say, and I am honoured to have the memory of her here on my blog.
      You must be having a great time, internet of no!
      ❤️🌹❤️xxoo

    1. Thank you Lauren!
      It’s been a tough post or everyone. Oddly I posted it serendipitously on Indigenous People’s Day.
      I hesitated, then said, you have to do this. This art is saying something important.
      Sigh!
      There is some hope! It’s been a problem in both of our countries for years, and gets little media attention.
      Happier posts coming up!
      xoxoxoxo

      1. I agree with you, Resa! You had to do it because this art says something important! I want to believe there is always hope, but sometimes, it’s hard to find.
        Whatever you post about is always fascinating whether it makes the heart dance or ache. That is life! xoxoxoxo

    1. Yes, you are right, Klausbernd.
      This is a perfect example.
      Cheers to the Fab you, and the other Fab 3 of The Fab Four!
      ❦❦❦❦

  33. Beautiful mural, Resa, you took such great photos! But yeah… very sad about Autumn… I hope one day she would be found safe and sound, though it’s unlikely.

    It’s really sad about the stats about missing and murdered Indigenous Women, not just in Canada but in the US, too. It’s good that an artist preserves her memory in this way… she’s obviously a beautiful woman. Thanks to you for highlighting her and women like her, too, Resa!

    1. Welcome, Ruth!
      These women really don’t get enough attention. That’s part of why they go missing so easily.
      Eyes are not open wide.
      Anyway, happier posts coming! xx

  35. The Highway of Tears is what came to my mind when I first saw this. So sad the number of missing women in BC and elsewhere. Thanks for sharing this one to bring awareness.

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