Indigenous Beauty | On Resilience and Skateboarding with Joe Buffalo

REGISTER

Indigenous Beauty is a program series presented by the Vancouver Art Gallery to amplify and centre Indigenous voices, providing a platform for Indigenous peoples to define themselves.

Join us for our next gathering featuring a conversation with Indigenous skateboarding legend and residential school survivor Joe Buffalo. This talk will also include a special screening of the 2021 documentary short Joe Buffalo, directed by Amar Chebib and executive produced by Tony Hawk for the New Yorker, about how he overcame his addictions and trauma.

Hosted by Shadae Rose Johnson, Community Relations Coordinator of Indigenous Programs, this conversation will illuminate how skateboarding and art intersect and how the sport creates community and has helped many build resiliency in the face of trauma.

Special guest Kaeleigh Ahasteen, a young skater from the Navajo Nation, will also join us to share how Buffalo and skateboarding have become important influences in her life.

This talk will be presented on Zoom and streamed live to the Gallery’s Facebook account here »

Questions? Submit them during the Zoom presentation using the Q&A function. You can also engage with your fellow attendees and panelists during the event using the Chat function.

New to Zoom? Learn how to register and attend a webinar here »

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

As this series evolves, we invite Indigenous peoples from across Turtle Island to submit their program proposals for participation in an upcoming Indigenous Beauty presentation.

For more information and to submit your proposal, please contact Shadae Rose Johnson, Community Relations Coordinator of Indigenous Programs at sjohnson@vanartgallery.bc.ca.

Walk in Beauty. #VAGIndigenousBeauty

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Joe Buffalo (Samson Cree) is an Indigenous skateboarding legend and a survivor of Canada’s notorious Indian Residential School system. Following a traumatic childhood and decades of addiction, Buffalo took on his inner demons to realize his dream of becoming a pro skateboarder.

Kaeleigh Jae Ahasteen was born into the Ta’neezahnii, Naasht’ezhi Tabaahi, Todichi’ii’nii and Naalani clan. She is from Ganado, AZ. She has two younger brothers, Greyson “Greygu” and Jayce. Kaeleigh has been skateboarding for a year and a half. She is supported by Unity Osoyoos BC. She started skateboarding during the pandemic when she was living with her family in Southern California. She saw a video of a girl she later became friends with, named Sky Brown, and she asked her dad, Lane Ahasteen, if he could buy her a skateboard. That same day, she got her first skateboard from BIG 5 sporting goods in Lake Elsinore, CA. Little did she know, her dad also used to skate when he was young, so they went to a local skatepark together, and Kaeleigh learned to ride down a ramp within a few tries. She later discovered that Lake Elsinore, CA, has a huge skateboarding scene with three amazing skateparks, including her favourite called McVickor. She learned how to drop in on a 3’ quarter pipe within a couple of days. Her father saw her fast progression, and they went to Vans skate shop where he got her her first professional board. Kaeleigh and her dad now skateboard every day. Lane even got portable lights so that they can skate in the park at night. During the pandemic when schools were closed and over the summer, Kaeleigh was skateboarding a lot and that’s all she thought about doing. Her goals are to become a pro female Navajo Skater, to have her own signature skate board and to represent and hold the Navajo Nation flag at the XGames.