Terence McGilvery is 43 years old from Saddle Lake Cree Nation. He is the 7th sibling out of 8 children.

His parents are Jenny and Late Howard McGilvery. Terence always had an interest in art since he was a

young boy. When Terence was 18 years old he won a logo art contest for the Saddle Lake Pow-wow and

they have been using it ever since. Terence was also an natural athlete with floor hockey being his

favorite sport to play. Unfortunately, Terence’s goals and ambitions had come to an abrupt end at the

age of 19. It was in the summer of 1994 when he was involved in an alcohol related car accident, which

left him confined in a wheelchair. Terence is now a quadriplegic with what he describes as only having

7% use of his hands.

It was his third week at Glen Rose Rehabilitation Center when the nurse asked him what it was that he

did before his accident. He told the nurse that he was an artist who enjoyed drawing. The nurse decided

to take him to the 2nd Floor where patients can do art and crafts. The nurse asked him if he’d like a

marker or a pencil, with his answer being “pencil”. As she handed him the pencil, Terence reached out

for it. He couldn’t grasp onto it, it slipped through his fingers and onto the floor. Terence’s hopes to

continue drawing were crushed. He became discouraged to draw again because he was embarrassed by

his disability. Four months later he was released from Glen Rose and that’s when the depression really

hit, or as he described it “he entered a dark bear cave, shutting himself out from everyone and

everything.” He felt this way for the first seven years of his new life in a wheelchair, battling his

depression, not knowing how to overcome it. But the day finally came when he accepted his life in a

wheelchair.

It was a pivotal moment because he could feel the depression slowly turning to courage and the will to

draw again came back. He recalled the nurse suggesting he tape a pencil to his hand if he really wanted

to draw again, so he decided to give it a shot. He went out and purchased art supplies. When he got

home, he smudged and said a quick prayer for strength and guidance from the Creator as he taped the

pencil to his hand. He took two deep breaths and drew two lines discovering he had full control of the

pencil. He worked the pencil with ease and began to draw an eagle. That was when he knew his dream

of becoming an artist was possible. Realizing his artistic talent was still in him, he gained his confidence

back, began to spend his time drawing and eventually sold his work locally. He continued drawing for

the next four years when he decided to challenge himself to painting. He purchased the supplies and

began to teach himself to paint. He quickly realized this was what he was meant to do, he was a painter

all along. His hands took on a whole new meaning, they became important and valuable, in his words

“sacred”. He smudges his hands before he begins his paintings, asking Creator for guidance, but more

importantly, for permission to paint His beautiful animals. His connection with Creator goes into all his

paintings, creating exquisite works of original art.

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