History(ies) of Territory(ies) presents works by Jessica Houston and Laurence Butet-Roch. Both artists are deeply interested in environmental justice and the construction of narratives through the prism of colonial history and territorial occupation. Each examines the responsibility of visual documentation rooted in collective memory, and proposes a dialogue between archive and contemporary image in order to revise unilateral narratives and (re)think future readings of historical narratives in the light of new imaginaries.

       Questioning the uses of archives puts the emphasis on their constant and necessary updating, in order to revisit the wefts of history that are all too often distorted or corrupted for the benefit of a project, be it political, ethnographic, academic or anthropological. Here, artistic practices tend not to impose a point of view, but to (re)open up reflection on the function of these documentations and their role in colonial political strategies, rather than encouraging their censorship. In order to understand the disasters of the past that we must avoid for our futures, we need to extend towards "poly-narratives" in which the authority of the archive is confronted and challenged.

       The foundations of historical science are based on the principle of the current state of knowledge. Archives, whether textual or visual, have often been a guarantee of a truth dominated by the powers in place, often erasing the value of the transmission of oral traditions. For a long time, narratives were based on textual archives. By the end of the 19th century, photography and the moving image had also become invaluable documentation media, enhancing these same narratives. Their use created new visual links between past, present and future. Images and video were soon seen as postulates of unchanging reality. In particular, these media played an ambiguous role in the subjective perception of borders and territories through illustrations of conquests, exploits and prowess of Western man. Fortunately, in recent years, intangible cultural heritage(1) has been recognized as an essential element in the revision of History. The accessibility of this heritage has enabled us to reposition ourselves on the meaning of archives, to broaden our interpretations of them and to question them.

       Through their respective approaches, Laurence Butet-Roch and Jessica Houston propose to shift points of view and open up perspectives towards new narratives of territories, using the archive as a lever for reflection.

       Laurence Butet-Roch's installation Our Grandfathers Were Chiefs offers a dialogue between contemporary documentary photography and archival documents revealing the expansion of Ontario's Chemical Valley. For over half a century, petrochemical complexes have been built on Anishinaabek lands, forcing the Aamjiwnaang community to endure the harmful consequences on their health and landscape. To this end, a large-format topographical map of the Sarnia Indian, produced by the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, locates Reserve No. 45 - consecutively called the Upper St. Clair reserve, then the Sarnia reserve, before reverting to its original name, Aamjiwnaang(2). Three distinctly coloured threads delineate the areas allocated: that of the reserve established under Treaty 29 (1827), its current area and the space occupied by the petrochemical plants. Since 1790, a succession of treaties(3) has progressively erased the extent of the Aamjiwnaang territory - which means "to the spawning stream" - further reducing its access to the banks of the St. Clair River.

       For nearly a decade, Laurence Butet-Roch has been working with the residents of Aamjiwnaang and its Council. By contrasting institutional archives, veritable tools of communication and promotion - like the Canadian $10 bill bearing the effigy of the Polymer Corporation - with the photographs she has produced, the artist encourages us to critically examine the archive as an object of state domination. Forced, initially, to acknowledge Canada's responsibility and the consequences of its colonial policies, she invites us to look at the community's history as well, as it unfolds here and now. The story of a daily resistance that continues to inhabit the land and actively protect its flora and fauna.