Veronica Atwin

Early Career

Elder Veronica Atwin was born in Bilijk First Nation (formerly Kingsclear First Nation) in New Brunswick in 1922 (see also First Nations in New Brunswick). In 1950, she married James (Jim) Atwin, and together they spent much of their lives harvesting black ash to create woven baskets.

Atwin was highly involved with St. Anne’s Catholic church in Bilijk, where she was an organist for over 50 years.

Alongside her work with the church, she taught classes on Wolastoqey craft and general sewing classes in her community (see also Wolastoqiyik). She was an important resource across New Brunswick for those interested in Indigenous cultures, crafts and history.  Atwin was the first Indigenous person in the Fredericton region to be invited to an Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire meeting to speak about Indigenous cultures. She frequently worked as a liaison and advisor between her community of Bilijk and organizations in New Brunswick’s provincial capital, Fredericton.

Craft Career

Elder Veronica Atwin was considered one of the finest basket weavers in her community during her lifetime. Atwin’s baskets are part of the collection of the New Brunswick Museum. In 1973, she won first place at the Atlantic National Exhibition for her basket-making. Atwin created conventional fancy and utilitarian baskets as well as innovative creations, such as her splint ash lampshades.

Atwin’s work was exhibited in Montreal during the Olympic Games of 1976 (see Montreal Olympics). As part of the Artisanage exhibition arranged by the Olympic Organizing Committee, Atwin’s baskets were demonstrated alongside photos taken by Karol K. Partridge, depicting her process of making a basket and her work in the classroom.

Her practice was also highlighted in a 1977 film created by the National Indian Arts and Crafts Corporation. In the film, Atwin and her husband explain how black ash wood is harvested for the creation of splint ash baskets. Atwin then provides a brief overview of how the splints are created, dyed and woven. The film was part of a series of work by the National Indian Arts and Crafts Corporation, with the aim of financially and technically assisting Indigenous cultural practices in Canada.

In addition to her own practice, Atwin also worked to facilitate the sale of baskets from Bilijk First Nation (see also First Nations in New Brunswick). In April 1973, a local co-operative organization in Bilijk First Nation elected Atwin as general manager and president.  The co-op’s project was to create an Indigenous craft market which dealt with the production and sale of Indigenous handicraft items. The co-op’s name was Mn-Gwon, meaning ‘rainbow’ in Wolastoqey; they sold furs, beadwork, leatherwork and baskets. Atwin facilitated this project as part of her wider aims to revitalize Indigenous crafts and languages.

Language and Indigenous Education Career

In addition to her work as a basket-maker, Elder Veronica Atwin was also dedicated to educational projects. In Bilijk First Nation, she taught basketry and Indigenous craft courses. She was also an informant for key academic studies on basketry and language in the Wabanaki Confederacy.

At the same time, Atwin worked for the local school as a language instructor. She began teaching Wolastoqey to students from kindergarten to grade three in 1975 (see also Wolastoqiyik). From there, she instructed children to perform church plays and the Stations of the Cross in Wolastoqey. Atwin worked to Indigenize church events; for example, in 1975, she directed a church nativity play based on Jean de Brébeauf’s 17th-century translation of a French Christmas carol into the Wyandot language.

Atwin also spent 32 years creating a Wolastoqey–English dictionary which contained 8,000 words with illustrations she drew.

Atwin’s work in Indigenous language education, documented as early as 1969, was instrumental during a moment in which the advocates for Indigenous education across the country were calling for increased access to these kinds of classes (see also Education of Indigenous Peoples in Canada). Her foundational work remains important for the community, particularly given that Wolastoqey is listed by the United Nations as an endangered language (see also Indigenous Language Revitalization in Canada).

Activism and Community Work

Elder Veronica Atwin was an elected treasurer for the New Brunswick Council of Native Women in 1970. Later, she represented Bilijk First Nation and New Brunswick at the National Native Women’s Conferences in 1972 and in 1975. Atwin also worked to establish Native Women’s groups in other communities in New Brunswick during the 1970s.

Atwin spoke often to journalists, settlers and cultural workers of her language revitalization work and of the negative impact of environmental changes on Indigenous craft practices (see also Indigenous Language Revitalization in Canada).

Legacy

In 2022, Bilijk First Nation changed the local school’s name to Wulastukw Wolokehkitimok. Wolokehkitimok means "a place of holistic learning.” Elder Imelda Perley (Opolahsuwehs) from Bilijk noted that the change was partly inspired by the late Elders Veronica Atwin and Charles Solomon, who were instrumental in revitalizing the Wolastoqey language (see also Indigenous Language Revitalization in Canada).

Atwin’s language work lives on through SayItFirst children’s books, which credit her as the originator of the series’ concept. SayItFirst books pair phonetics, an Indigenous language and English or French. The books are available in Mi’kmaw, Wolastoqey, Cree and Anishinaabemowin.

Atwin’s artistic legacy lives on through the New Brunswick Museum’s collection as well as private collections of her work. Her baskets have also been exhibited posthumously in New Brunswick at the University of New Brunswick Art Centre, Fredericton, in 1993. The exhibition was entitled Braided Spirit: Fancy Baskets by Veronica Atwin.