Faculty of Art

Drawing and Painting

Robbie Simpson

03 Papa Turtle

The Turtle Island Creation story is an Anishinaabe story that tells about the origins of North America, it centers the turtle as a symbol for life and earth. The story starts with a great flood, the result of a cleanse of feuding people, to start anew. From up above, in the Skyworld, a pregnant woman fell into a hole, from underneath the roots of a tree. With seeds and roots in her hands, she called out for help from the animals down below. Birds helped soften her fall, but weren’t strong enough to hold her and placed her safely on a turtle's back. Calling out for help one more time, she got the help of a muskrat who swam all the way down to grab a clump of soil. She took the soil, placed it on the turtles back, and planted her seeds, creating Turtle Island. With 13 plates on their shells that represent the 13 lunar cycles, turtles carry a deep-rooted respect as a symbol for life and Earth.

“Papa Turtle’s green skin and blue shell with yellow accents were chosen to resemble the Toronto SkyDome Mascot ‘Domer’, who represented the stadium from 1989 until 2005 when they made the switch to Rodgers Centre. My parents had a small plush of Domer the turtle when I was little, he sat high up alongside a statue of our first dog. I was enamoured with this turtle, perceived to be so perfect and untouchable, just out of reach of my tiny arms.Now that I live in Toronto I think back to childhood and I remember how untouchable and out of reach adulthood seemed. I think about the Domer Plush and I’m reminded that I have grown tall enough to reach taller than the shelf he was on. I think about everything I have learned in university, the friends I have made, the people I have met, the stories I have heard. I made Papa turtle to represent my childhood and my connection to Toronto; I made Papa Turtle to represent Turtle Island, to honour the land on which I live and create art well as, to honour the origins and stories of the indigenous communities who are the original keepers of this land. ”