In Indigenous traditions, the Buffalo Woman represents strength, resilience, and sacred protection. Yet across Canada, Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people continue to go missing and be murdered at an alarming rate, their absence leaving an unfillable void in their families and communities.
Buffalo Woman is an art installation that calls upon the spirit of the buffalo—provider, protector, and symbol of survival—to honor those lost and demand justice. Through powerful visual storytelling, traditional materials, and community voices, this installation serves as a site of remembrance, reflection, and resistance.
The installation is both a tribute and a call to action, urging visitors to acknowledge the ongoing crisis, listen to the stories of those left behind, and stand in solidarity for change.
Join us in honouring the lives taken too soon and ensuring their spirits are never forgotten.
Artists Destiny Roote and Melissa Comyn will be at the BCM&CC Friday May 9, prior to the screening of CBC’s The Fifth Estate Documentary ‘A Sister’s Promise’ to engage in conversation about the installation.
Artist Discussion and Documentary Screening:
Honouring Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
May 9 | 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
FREE to attend; Preregister to save your seats.
About Destiny Roote
Destiny Roote is an Anishinaabe woman from Saugeen First Nation #29, where she was born and raised alongside her two brothers and sister. A self-taught fibre artist, she has a particular passion for crochet and occasionally explores knitting. Her favourite crochet style is Amigurumi, a playful and imaginative technique that allows her to connect with her inner child and enjoy the creative process with a sense of joy and freedom.
Although Amigurumi is her specialty, she is always eager to try new styles and techniques. More recently, she has begun painting with her family, discovering that the act of creating together offers a meaningful way to unwind and share quality time.
Her creative work has largely been shared privately with close family and friends. Each handmade piece is a heartfelt expression of care, often gifted to those who hold a special place in her life — a reflection of their importance and the deep pride she takes in creating for others.
About Melissa Comyn
I am a self-taught artist, and I have always been a maker. I have pursued art throughout my life, I draw inspiration from my emotions. I thrive on trying new techniques.
Creating has always been my way to process difficult circumstances, and a way to engage with my emotions. I try new techniques to keep the passion for creating alive, and to expand my experience of creating. The challenge of tackling a new project ignites my drive, even if it’s not successful, the engagement in the creation is worth it. The process is the purpose, not just the finished piece.
I have painted and sewed separately for years and when I joined the modalities, I felt my art came alive. This transition has been a natural progression and forms the main body of my work. I dye cotton gauze and combine simple stitching to make abstract images or deconstructed landscapes. The dying process is as rewarding as the slow and methodical stitching. The overall result is layered and detailed that invites someone to look a little closer. In the early 2000’s I took some part time studies at OCAD as a mature student.
Melissa’s work has been exhibited through various solo, juried and community shows.
“As the Crow Flies,” Fibre Art Show
2017, Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre, Southampton, ON
“Breaking the Silence,” Solo show focused on mental health
May 2017, Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre, Southampton, ON
“Open Doorways,” Photography exhibition, co presented with John Comyn
May 2018, Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre, Southampton, ON
Photography exhibit featuring the mental health experiences of 9 participants.
“Overzealous” Juried Show 2020, Fibre Art Piece
2020 Neilson Creative Centre Toronto
“Thread of the Story: When Artifacts Inspire Art, Fibre Art Piece
2024, Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre, Southampton, ON
About Jes Daneluk
Photography can and often should be used as a tool for cross-pollination across multiple fields, as Jessica strives to achieve in her multi-disciplinary practice. Using photography as a tool to enhance multiple sectors within the arts and social work field, Jessica is a formally trained photographer, working currently as a helper at Kabaeshiwim Respite Women’s Shelter within Saugeen First Nation #29. Her work has always leaned into a focus on women’s rights, power, and cultural stances, highlighting specifically ephemera that express the stories of women of the past’s lives and strong societal significance.
Born and raised in the fields of Bruce County, Jessica has fluctuated between the countryside and living and working within Toronto, stringing beads across the way, these beads that have now formed threads connecting continents and cultures through their intention. Through these multiple channels of her art & social work, there is hope for connection, valour, and veracity.
