Câhcacêp Art & Tea House: A Conversation with Jerry Saddleback and Jo-Ann Saddleback

Câhcacêp: a Cree word that means a little bit of everything. When elders speak with us, even when telling specific stories, it is also about everything. In this conversation, Jerry Saddleback and Jo-Ann Saddleback tell us about Câhcacêp Art & Tea House, the space they recently opened in Edmonton wherein they host exhibitions, bow-making workshops, Cree language classes, and more. Here, they generously share their thinking about how to cultivate gathering spaces that are meaningful, educational, self-determined, and grounding for a wide variety of participants, focusing on the activities in and around this new space that’s been in the making for several decades. The Saddlebacks elegantly illuminate the importance of intentionality in all aspects of life, including artistic practice, and how the pandemic generatively reframes, renews, and refreshes intent in many different contexts.

Dawn Saunders Dahl: I thought we could start off by you telling me a little bit about the tea house.

Jo-Ann Saddleback: We opened up last August but, in our hearts, for the last 25–30 years, we thought that we would like to do something like this. It’s not exactly as we planned but what we had wanted to do is to fulfill ourselves—both my husband and I are artists—and to be able to promote, help, establish, and give other artists a [space] to show their art. So, we have a