Topic: ARTS

Winner: Indigenous Language Category
Inconvenient Skin
by Shane L. Koyczan
Translation into Cree by Soloman Ratt
Published by Theytus Books
Artwork:
Joseph M. Sanchez (Illustrations),
Jim Logan (Illustrations),
Kent Monkman (Contributor),
Nadya Kwandibens (Photographs)

Inconvenient Skin is a collection of poetry written in English and translated into Cree. The poems aim to unpack the challenges of the dark side of Canada’s history and to clean the wounds so the nation can finally heal. Powerful and thought-provoking, this collection will draw you in and make you reconsider Canada’s colonial legacy. The cover features the art of Kent Monkman, and the interior features work by Joseph Sanchez, a member of the Indian Group of Seven. 

The author, Shane Koyczan is a writer, poet, and spoken word artist. He has performed around the globe at universities and at music and literary festivals. His writing and performance are vital, witty, and sincere: he reaches the hearts of his audiences with his powerful verses and has brought the Canadian spoken word movement to the international stage. Koyczan was born in Yellowknife, NWT, and he grew up in Penticton, British Columbia where is currently lives and works.  He has published several books, including poetry collection Visiting Hours, Stickboy, a novel in verse, Our Deathbeds will be Thirsty, To This Day: For the Bullied and Beautiful, A Bruise on Light and Visiting Hours.

The translator, Soloman Ratt was born on the banks of the Churchill River in a trapper’s cabin just north of Stanley Mission, SK. He went to the Prince Albert Indian Residential School and graduated from Riverside Collegiate in Prince Albert. He attended the University of Regina and graduated with a BA in English and a BA in Linguistics as well as a MA in English. He has been teaching Cree language and Cree literature at First Nations University in Regina since 1986. He teaches all levels of Cree and Cree literature. Ratt is also a writer and a poet, including Woods Cree Stories, and Beginning Cree written as an introduction for Cree language learners both published by University of Regina Press.

Winner: English Language Category:
MOCCASIN SQUARE GARDENS
Short Stories
By Richard Van Camp
Published by Douglas & McIntyre

Award acceptance quote from Richard Van Camp “I wanted to thank my publisher, Anna Comfort O’Keeffe, and I wanted to thank my editors, Barbara Pulling and Cheryl Cohen. Thank you!!

I would like to share with you what this award means to me.

To know that 2,500 copies of our book are being given away for free, to know that almost 300 copies are being sent to my hometown of Fort Smith, NWT, to know that all of our hard work and editing–and let’s be honest: it is our editors who make us the best writers we can ever dream to be–to know that we have been honoured in such a good way, a profound way, astonishes and inspires me.

I am so grateful to all of you for this award and I share this award with you and with my family, my community, and I have always felt that when we publish something, it becomes an arrow of fire and hope and inspiration that can land anywhere and anytime. To know that there are 2,500 new arrows of fire, light and hope soaring into communities that we’ll never visit, inspiring lives that we will hopefully hear about years from now, to reach new readers and writers, well, this is the ultimate accomplishment and I thank you all for helping me.”  Masi Cho

Master Tłı̨chǫ storyteller and bestselling author Richard Van Camp captures the shifting and magical nature of the North in this stunning collection of short stories.

The characters of Moccasin Square Gardens inhabit Denendeh, the land of the people north of the sixtieth parallel. These stories are filled with in-laws, outlaws and common-laws. Get ready for illegal wrestling moves (“The Camel Clutch”), pinky promises, a doctored casino, extraterrestrials or “Sky People,” love, lust and prayers for peace.

While this is Van Camp’s most hilarious short story collection, it’s also haunted by the lurking presence of the Wheetago, human-devouring monsters of legend that have returned due to global warming and the greed of humanity. The stories in Moccasin Square Gardens show that medicine power always comes with a price. Drawing from oral history techniques to perfectly capture the character and texture of everyday small-town life, the collection of stories functions as a meeting place for an assortment of characters, from shamans and time-travelling goddess warriors to pop-culture-obsessed pencil pushers, to con artists, archivists and men who just need to grow up, all seeking some form of connection.

Richard Van Camp is an internationally renowned storyteller and best-selling author. He has written and published more than twenty books in twenty years of writing, from baby board books to young adult fiction, to novellas and novels. He was born in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, and is a member of the Tłı̨chǫ Dene Nation. He acted as a cultural consultant for CBC Television’s North of 60. A graduate of the En’owkin School of Writing in Penticton, he completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Writing at the University of Victoria and completed his Master’s of Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia. Richard was awarded Storyteller of the Year for both Canada and the US by the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers.

Honour Book:
The Case of Windy Lake
By Michael Hutchinson
Published by Second Story Press

The Case of Windy Lake Book 1 in The Mighty Muskrats Mystery Series 

The Mighty Muskrats won’t let a mystery go unsolved!

Sam, Otter, Atim, and Chickadee are four inseparable cousins growing up on the Windy Lake First Nation. Nicknamed the Mighty Muskrats for their habit of laughing, fighting, and exploring together, the cousins find that each new adventure adds to their reputation. 

When a visiting archeologist goes missing, the cousins decide to solve the mystery of his disappearance. In the midst of community conflict, family concerns, and environmental protests, the four get busy following every lead. From their base of operations in a fort made out of an old school bus, the Mighty Muskrats won’t let anything stop them from solving their case! 

The Case of Windy Lake was the co-winner in Second Story Press’ 2018 Indigenous Writing Contest!

Michael Hutchinson is a citizen of the Misipawistik Cree Nation in the Treaty 5 territory, north of Winnipeg. He has worked as the Director of Communications for the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, and as a project manager for the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba, where he helped create the “We are all treaty people” campaign. Over seven years ago, he jumped at the chance to make mini-documentaries for the first season of APTN Investigates. Michael then became host of APTN National News and produced APTN’s sit-down interview show, Face to Face, and APTN’s version of Politically Incorrect, The Laughing Drum. Michael has worked in communications for the Assembly of First Nations and the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, an advocacy organization for First Nations in northern Manitoba. He currently lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His greatest accomplishments are his two lovely daughters.

The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, the world’s largest Indigenous festival showcasing film, video, audio, and digital + interactive media made by Indigenous screen-content creators, returns October 20 – 25, 2020 with a twist – the festival will take place completely online!

Now in its 21st year, imagineNATIVE has moved online due to COVID-19 restrictions, where they will present a dynamic selection of film, visual arts, video games and more from 153 Indigenous artists in 23 languages from 13 countries and 97 Indigenous nations. The Festival will include ten feature films, four short programs, two guest curated programs, and one artist spotlight on Thirza Cuthand.

Throughout the Festival four short programs will be screened that are each named after one of the four colours in the medicine wheel. imagineNATIVE will open the Festival with the shorts program YELLOW on October 20, a program composed of works created by artists from seven different nations. The additional shorts programs include: RED on October 21, six short films that offer stories of connection where land and love reunite to bring hope and resilience; BLACK on October 23, eight visually arresting shorts at the vanguard of Indigenous Cinema; and WHITE on October 24, seven short films that tell stories about family, communities, Indigenous languages, and representation.

imagineNATIVE will honour Lorne Cardinal with the 6th annual August Schellenberg Award of Excellence. The August Schellenberg Award of Excellence was launched in partnership with Joan Karasevich Schellenberg to honour her late husband, the legendary actor August (Augie) Schellenberg, and the spirit of his work. The “Augie” Award will be presented to Lorne Cardinal as part of the imagineNATIVE Awards Presentation on October 25.

With the community as a priority, the 2020 imagineNATIVE Festival will be guided by Indigenous practices of gifting and reciprocity. imagineNATIVE will be ‘gifting from the spirit and for the spirit’ with daily draws for physical and digital giveaways throughout the Festival, highlighting Indigenous artists, goods, and companies.

The 21st Annual imagineNATIVE Festival will close October 25 with the Canadian premiere of Compañía by Bolivian director Miguel Hilari, which provides a deeper understanding of perspectives of home and migration using documentary, experimental, and visual poetry.

Tickets and passes are on sale now at https://festival.imaginenative.org/

Outstanding BC First Nations artists honoured with Fulmer Award

VANCOUVER – The BC Achievement Foundation (BCAF) today announced the six recipients of the Fulmer Award in First Nations Art. The recipients will be celebrated online for their artistic excellence in traditional, contemporary or media art beginning in November.

“It is a delight for all of us at the BC Achievement Foundation to recognize the six 2020 recipients of the Fulmer Award in First Nations Art. Their work both respects deep traditions and shimmers with the new,” said BCAF chair Anne Giardini. “This year’s awardees join eighty artists from the Award’s past fourteen years. Fulmer Award alumni help to ensure British Columbia is a place of innovation and creative success,” she added.

The 2020 recipients, chosen by an independent jury, are:

Cole Speck, Kwakwaka’wakw – Crabtree McLennan Emerging Artist Award
Jaalen Edenshaw, Haida
Lou-ann Neel, Kwakwaka’wakw
Kelly Robinson, Nuxalk/Nuu-chah-nulth
Nathan Wilson, Haisla
Evelyn Vanderhoop, Haida – Award of Distinction

This year’s celebration of the Fulmer Award in First Nations Art includes a series of films showcasing each awardee’s artistic accomplishments. BC Achievement thanks its media partners, CFNR and First Nations Drum for their support of the award program.

Members of the 2020 jury include: Corey Bulpitt, past recipient and Haida artist; Philip Gray, past recipient and Tsimshian artist; and Connie Watts, Associate Director, Aboriginal Programs, Emily Carr University of Art + Design and artist of Nuu-chah-nulth, Gitxsan and Kwakwaka’wakw ancestry. Brenda Crabtree, Director, Aboriginal Programs, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, a member of the Spuzzum Band with both Nlaka’pamux and Sto:lo ancestry, serves as an advisor to the jury.

BC Achievement is an independent foundation established in 2003 to celebrate community service, arts, humanities and enterprise. For information on BC Achievement, visit www.bcachievement.com.

The Fulmer Award in First Nations Art is made possible through the generous support of the Vancouver-based Fulmer Foundation.

Detailed information about the 2020 recipients and a list of past awardees is posted on the foundation’s website at www.bcachievement.com.

Contact:
Cathryn Wilson, Executive Director
BC Achievement Foundation
info@bcachievement.com | 604.261.9777


2020 Fulmer Award in First Nations Art
Awardee Backgrounders

Cole Speck, Kwakwaka’wakw
Campbell River
Crabtree McLennan Emerging Artist Award

Born in 1991, Cole Speck was raised on the ‘Namgis reserve on the island of Alert Bay and has been carving since he was a teenager. Cole comes from a strong cultural and artistic heritage, which is evident in his carving. He is the great grandson of late Chief John Speck of the Tlowitsis, who was the father of the late Henry Speck Sr.

Cole’s work has immense reverence for old traditions, while pushing into contemporary realms. As a young carver, Cole apprenticed under accomplished master carvers Beau Dick and Wayne Alfred and since then, he has been consistently making his mark on the Northwest Coast art scene. Cole has assisted in the making of the Pat Alfred Memorial pole with Beau Dick and in the carving of a pole for a Northwest Coast exhibition in Holland with Rande Cook.

In 2017, Cole performed for the opening of documenta 14 in Athens, Greece where he contextualized Beau Dick’s works in the exhibition through a re-telling of the Undersea Kingdom story. In July of 2017, he participated in the exhibition in Kassel, Germany as Beau Dick’s apprentice. Cole’s work has also been exhibited at NADA Art Fair in New York and at Santander Cultural in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 2018.

Jaalen Edenshaw, Haida
Masset

A member of the Kayaahl ‘Lanaas Eagle Clan of the Haida Nation, Jaalen has always been surrounded by Haida art. At a young age he started studying the discipline of Haida form-line design under his father Guujaaw’s guidance and later he carved with James Hart. He has also spent countless hours in museums studying the old masters. He owes his understanding of the art to these experiences.

Jaalen is known for his carving of monumental cedars. His 35 foot “Gyaluu” pole stands in Old Massett, the 43 foot “Two Brothers Pole” carved with his brother Gwaai stands in Jasper AB, and his 45 foot “Gwaai Haanas Legacy Pole”, in Hlk’ah GawGa. He is currently putting the finishing touches on a 33 foot Haida canoe.

Haida stories and language guide his work. He delves into the old Haida stories before he carves out the narrative. He and his brother co-founded K’alts’ida K’ah (Laughing Crow), a collective to tell Haida stories and promote Haida language through art. They wrote and produced, “Sinxii Ganguu”, dramatizing an old story performed in Haida. He collaborated on several Haida stop motion animations, the latest of which won best music video of 2015 at the ImagiNative film festival and co-wrote “SGaawaay K’uuna” (Edge of the Knife), the award-winning Haida feature film of 2018.

Although Jaalen has pieces in collections and museums around the world, he considers his most important works to be the ones that stay on Haida Gwaii. He feels a great debt to his homeland and has worked to highlight the environmental importance of land and sea and the Haida way of being.

Lou-ann Neel, Kwakwaka’wakw
Victoria

Lou-ann Neel descends from a rich history of artists on both sides of her family. She comes from the Mamalilikulla, Ma’amtagila, and Da’naxda’xw on her mother’s side of the family and ‘Namgis, Kwickwasutaineuk, and Kwagiulth on her father’s side of the family.

Lou-ann has been practicing in Kwakwaka’wakw design for over forty years in various forms – jewelry, textiles and hides, paintings and prints, and vector designing in multiple applications including animation, storybook illustration and 3D printing. One of Lou-ann’s first passions was carving, and she is continuing to practice the techniques she learned through an apprenticeship in wood carving with her brother, Kevin Cranmer.

In addition to her artistic practice, Lou-ann is a community arts’ advocate – always seeking to build solutions that will enable Indigenous artists to balance their respective rights, responsibilities and obligations with new, contemporary expressions of their work. Lou-ann serves as Curator, Indigenous Collections, and Acting Head of Indigenous Collections and Repatriation Department at the Royal BC Museum working closely with BC First Nations communities to address repatriation matters.

Kelly Robinson, Nuxalk/Nuu-chah-nulth
Bella Coola

Kelly Robinson’s roots and family origins are in Bella Coola with descendants from both the Nuxalk and Nuu-chah-nulth Nations. As a child his curiosity in his culture was piqued and Kelly became determined to learn and refine the art — specifically the unique design forms of the Nuxalk.

Under the guidance of his uncle, noted Master carver, Alvin Mack, Kelly developed his own techniques in creation of two and three-dimensional art forms. In 2010 he graduated from the Northwest Coast Jewellery Arts program at the Native Education College in Vancouver. Immediately following graduation, Kelly began an apprenticeship with Haida artist Jim McGuire to continue his understanding of design and the twenty-first century contemporary art market. Soon after, he completed another apprenticeship with renowned Nuu-chah-nulth artist Gordon Dick.

In 2012 Kelly graduated from the Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art. He continued his studies under a mentorship program with master carver Tim Paul, during which time Kelly enlightened himself with Nuu-chah-nulth stories and perfected his mask making abilities in the Nuu-chah-nulth style.

Kelly uses his art to tell stories of the Nuxalk and Nuu-chah-nulth people, their land and culture. He examines stories of the supernatural, potlatch societies, and the land and sea in his artwork. He is currently working on two lineage totem poles that will represent two of four villages within the Nuxalk Nation. “Through the art, I will begin my educational journey in recapturing the culture we once had. It is a very exciting time to be a First Nations artist in Canada.”

Nathan Wilson, Haisla
Terrace

Nathan Wilson is inspired by his Haisla family history which drives him to continue to keep alive a long line of carving traditions. A graduate of the Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art, Nathan extended his skills as a carver, painter and tool maker. The carvings he has worked on since are inspired by events and understanding the natural world we live in. From encounters with grizzly and black bears, mountain goats and whales, to attending feasts and totem pole raising ceremonies, these are all important in finding a deeper meaning to becoming a First Nations Artist.

Nathan was commissioned by Mount Elizabeth Secondary School to carve an eight-foot totem pole, where students could observe, participate and carve onto the pole under Nathan’s supervision at the beginning stages. He has also joined the communities of Kitamaat Village and District of Kitimat to help raise the “Palaa-Gwa-La” pole in the main entrance of another school. This was the first totem pole to be raised for either community in several decades.

Working alongside his mentors Stan Bevan, Ken McNeil and Dempsey Bob, Nathan is an instructor at his alma mater in Terrace. He continues to create masks, sculptures and relief carved panels for various galleries, as well as private commissions with various collectors.

Evelyn Vanderhoop, Haida
Masset
Award of Distinction

Evelyn Vanderhoop comes from a long line of Haida weavers, including her grandmother Selina Peratrovich and her mother, Delores Churchill. She has also studied weaving with Cheryl Samuel.

An accomplished weaver in the Naaxiin (more commonly called Chilkat) tradition, Evelyn studied the origin of this technique by reading journals of the early explorers and their accounts of the first contact with the Haida as well as learning from the stories of her ancestors. She has studied the old robes in museums around the world and learned their complexities. Evelyn has mastered the art of Naaxiin technique where weaving not only moves across horizontally, but vertically as well, creating curves, slopes and circles with multiple braids enclosing the formline shapes.

Parallel careers as a weaver and watercolour artist have marked Evelyn’s success. She studied watercolour painting in Europe, and one of her paintings was chosen by the United States Postal Service as a reference for a stamp to commemorate Native American dance. Evelyn has also been chosen as an artist in residence at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

VANCOUVER BC — The Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at UBC announces Kent Monkman’s timely solo exhibition Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience, on display from August 6, 2020 to January 3, 2021. A searing critique of Canada’s colonial policies over the past 150 years, the large-scale exhibition prioritizes First Nations’ perspectives during a pivotal moment in the ongoing global discourse on systemic racism. Curated by Monkman — a contemporary Canadian artist of Cree ancestry — the provocative exhibition features roughly 80 pieces, including the artist’s own paintings, drawings, installations, and sculptures, in dialogue with historical artifacts and artworks borrowed from museums and private collections from across Canada. MOA is the final stop on the acclaimed exhibition’s three-year, cross-country tour. 

“The last 150 years have been the most devastating for Indigenous peoples in this country,” says Monkman. “And yet I could not think of any historical paintings that conveyed or authorized the Indigenous experience in the art history milieu. Where are the paintings from the 19th century that recounted, with passion and empathy, the dispossession, starvation, incarceration, and genocide of Indigenous peoples? Shame and Prejudice activates a vital dialogue about the impact of European settler cultures on Indigenous peoples and about Indigenous resilience.” 

MOA’s curatorial liaison for the exhibition, Dr. Jennifer Kramer says: “MOA is honoured to present Shame and Prejudice, particularly in these times of protest and resistance against the oppression of marginalized peoples. This exhibition is a ‘restorying’ that transforms the familiar nationalist myth of British-French settlers discovering a new world ripe for possession and resource extraction into a counter-narrative focused on Indigenous strength, healing, and resurgence. Shame and Prejudice is part of a continuum of work at MOA that showcases Indigenous voices through contemporary art and social discourse.” 

The exhibition premiered at the Art Museum at the University of Toronto in January 2017, in an iconoclastic commentary on Canada’s sesquicentennial. Appropriating European aesthetic traditions from Caravaggio’s realism to Manet’s impressionism and Picasso’s cubism, the artist’s series of paintings, drawings, and installations takes aim at the stereotypes of Indigenous peoples perpetuated in popular culture and high art. Through a darkly humorous narrative — told through the omniscient perspective of Monkman’s two-spirited alter ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle — Monkman boldly confronts the devastation of colonialism while also celebrating the resilient spirit of Indigenous peoples. 

Guided by Miss Chief’s excerpted memoirs, visitors will embark on a time-travelling journey through Canada’s history — from the fur trade and confederation to the rise of residential schools and impoverished realities of contemporary urban life. Nine distinct chapters explore themes of colonization, incarceration, loss, violence, and resilience through Monkman’s visceral representations of historical traumas and injustices, which continue to impact Indigenous communities today. 

In many of the exhibition’s works, Monkman employs the glamorous Miss Chief to reverse the colonial gaze, upending traditional ideas of Canadian history. In the tongue-in-cheek sculptural installation, Scent of a Beaver (2017), based on Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s rococo masterpiece, The Swing, Miss Chief — clad in an opulent silk and fur gown — is the object of adoration by a French and English general. The work dissects the power dynamics at play in the shaping of the fur-based economy of early North America. Miss Chief’s trickster presence takes a decidedly more provocative turn in The Daddies (2016), an irreverent interpretation of Robert Harris’ 1884 painting The Fathers of Confederation. Here, Canada’s forefathers are gathered to admire a naked Miss Chief — posed atop a striped Hudson’s Bay blanket — subverting Canada’s confederation with an empowered representation of Indigenous sexuality.  

While Monkman employs satirical humour to undermine the white-washing of Canada’s past, his commentary takes a poignant tone when exploring the loss and violence experienced by Indigenous women and children. In Death of the Virgin (After Caravaggio) (2016), a replication of the baroque master’s painting of the same name, Monkman replaces Caravaggio’s virgin with a young Indigenous woman, in a commentary on the missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada. The artist also takes on residential schools — one of Canada’s most shameful atrocities — in The Scream (2017), a jarring depiction of the forceful removal of Indigenous infants and children from their homes. The policy’s tragic consequences are further illuminated with a display of Indigenous cradleboards juxtaposed with chalk outlines of missing traditional baby carriers.  

One of the main themes running throughout the exhibition is the historical Indigenous experience of moving from a state of plenty to a state of deprivation. Pre-colonial bounty is represented through a frequent motif of beavers, bison, and bears, while Monkman’s installation Starvation Table (2017) depicts the ravages of colonial greed. One end of the dining table is dressed with items obtained from various museum collections — fine china, silverware, and table settings filled with fruit and wine — which gives way to the opposite end of simple platters and plates filled with nothing more than bison bones. 

The exhibition also includes a modern-day urban setting where an Indigenous spirituality is evoked to protect against the contemporary dangers of assault, inequality, and despair. In Monkman’s series of paintings set in his native city of Winnipeg, including Struggle for Balance (2013), Bad Medicine (2014), and Le Petit déjeuner sur l’herbe (2014), the artist depicts battles between Indigenous spirit animals such as bears and eagles and the hardship of contemporary life, often including violence, poverty, and crime. Here, women are depicted as flattened, Picasso-esque figures, representing the continued violence against them. 

Lauded for his fearless commentary on critical issues relating to life for Indigenous people in Canada, Toronto-based Monkman is one of Canada’s best-known contemporary artists. As an artist, he has had solo exhibitions at numerous Canadian museums including the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art in Toronto, Winnipeg Art Gallery, and Art Gallery of Hamilton. In 2019, he unveiled two new works at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, where he was praised for having “flipped a conventional, disempowering idea of Native victimhood on its head” (The New York Times). 

Pre-booked timed-entry tickets to MOA (which includes admission to this exhibition) will be required. Tickets on sale July 21 at: moa.ubc.ca 

About MOA (moa.ubc.ca) 

The Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at the University of British Columbia (UBC) is world-renowned for its collections, research, teaching, public programs and community connections. Founded in 1949 in the basement of the Main Library at UBC, its mission is to inspire an understanding of and respect for world arts and cultures. Today, Canada’s largest teaching museum is located in a spectacular Arthur Erickson-designed building overlooking mountains and sea. MOA’s worldwide collections consist of more than 42,000 cultural objects and artworks created in Asia, Africa, Oceania, Europe and the Americas — with a focus on the Pacific Northwest. MOA’s Multiversity Galleries provide public access to more than 9,000 of these objects and artworks. The Audain Gallery and the O’Brian Gallery, MOA’s temporary exhibition spaces, showcase travelling exhibitions, as well as those developed in-house. 

LISTING INFORMATION
MOA presents Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience 

Dates: August 6, 2020 to January 3, 2021 
Address: Museum of Anthropology 
University of British Columbia 
6393 NW Marine Drive, Vancouver, BC 
Website: moa.ubc.ca 

Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art celebrates the milestone centennial birthday of Bill Reid (1920–1998) with an exhibition about his extraordinary life and legacy, To Speak With a Golden Voice, from July 16, 2020 to April 11, 2021. Guest curated by Gwaai Edenshaw — considered to be Reid’s last apprentice — the group exhibition includes rarely seen treasures by Reid and works from artists such as Robert Davidson and Beau Dick. Tracing the iconic Haida artist’s lasting influence, two new artworks by contemporary artist Cori Savard (Haida) and singer-songwriter Kinnie Starr (Mohawk/Dutch/German//Irish) will be created for this highly anticipated exhibition.

“Bill Reid was a master goldsmith, sculptor, community activist, and mentor whose lasting legacy and influence has been cemented by his fusion of Haida traditions with his own modernist aesthetic,” says Edenshaw. “Just about every Northwest Coast artist working today has a connection or link to Reid. Before he became renowned for his artwork, he was a CBC radio announcer recognized for his memorable voice — in fact, one of Reid’s many Haida names was Kihlguulins, or ‘golden voice.’ His role as a public figure helped him become a pivotal force in the resurgence of Northwest Coast art, introducing the world to its importance and empowering generations of artists.”

Reid was born in Victoria, BC, to a Haida mother and an American father with Scottish-German roots. He began exploring his Haida heritage at the age of 23, starting a journey of discovery that would last a lifetime. He studied jewelry making while working at CBC in Toronto, but it wasn’t until a trip to Haida Gwaii in 1954 that his creative trajectory shifted irreversibly. His time on the island introduced him to the work of his great-great-uncle Charles Edenshaw (no relation to Gwaai Edenshaw), inspiring him to create new works out of his ancestor’s sketches. Reid became known for making exquisitely detailed pieces, which were eventually translated into larger formats as he moved into monumental carvings. Some of his most iconic works today include Chief of the Undersea World, The Spirit of Haida Gwaii, and Raven and the First Men.

To Speak With a Golden Voice will provide new insights into the nuanced facets and creative complexities of Reid’s life and legacy. The exhibition will follow four thematic threads, beginning with Voice, a look at Reid’s career at CBC and his prolific writings, including archival recordings of his thoughts on Northwest Coast art. Voice will be central to the exhibition, including audio narratives, literary excerpts, and a commissioned sound-based artwork by Kinnie Starr that incorporates Reid’s voice.

The second thread will be an examination of Reid’s creative journey, or Process, which was affected by the many colonial policies still in place during the 1950s when he began exploring his heritage. The exhibition will include rarely seen sketchbooks, drawings, paper maquettes, casting molds, and works in progress from private and public collections.

The third thread will be a study of Lineage, with works by Reid’s contemporaries and the successors who considered him an influence. Artists will include Robert Davidson, Beau Dick and Joe David, as well as others who never met Reid but found inspiration in his life and career. Haida artist Cori Savard will create a new work based on Reid’s deep-rooted impact on Indigenous and Haida art.

In the final thread of Legacy, Reid’s multi-faceted and occasionally controversial life will be given fresh perspective. Departing from the public persona and staid portrait of the artist, the exhibition will provide new insights through the voices and stories of those who personally knew him. Short films featuring interviews with George Rammell, Don Yeomans, Rick Adkins, Chief 7idansuu James Hart, and more will be on display.

The gallery will publish a new exhibition catalogue in the fall of 2020 with essays by curator Edenshaw, Nika Collison, Martine Reid, and more.

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“Forgiveness, apologies, actions, unity, change, and healing are all components of reconciliation,” explains Sam (Carl) Willier, an alumni of the Northern Lakes College Academic Upgrading program. “We chose Indigenous exhibits to dedicate healing towards the process of reconciliation in Canada.” Sam is one of five summer students creating new exhibits at the Native Cultural Arts Museum at Northern Lakes College. Over the summer, the students were given an open-ended objective to create Indigenous exhibits using artefacts in the museum collection.

They were free to choose the number of exhibits they would create, as well as the theme. After some discussion and a survey of the artefacts in the collection, they determined they would create five exhibits celebrating aspects of Indigenous culture, with a focus on the ingenuity, creativeness, and playfulness of the culture.

The students kept top of mind the overarching umbrella of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada’s 94 Calls to Action as they created the exhibits. “Reconciliation still has a very long way to go, but there is a movement that has been started and it will take everyone towards reconciliation,” states Sam, 24, who is pursuing his Bachelor of Education degree at the University of Alberta. The students felt that the exhibits’ celebration of culture and tradition could help that movement.

The Indigenous Children’s exhibit contains a dreamcatcher, baby moccasins, cradleboard, and medicine pouch. As explained by a summer student who grew up hearing stories in the oral tradition, “My parents told me the traditional stories as I was growing up. The Spider Lady was a spiritual protector, spinning her web of protection. As her children grew and dispersed, she taught the mothers and grandmothers how to weave their own web to protect their children. That is where the dreamcatcher originates.”.

Two light-hearted exhibits demonstrate play and transportation. Traditional Indigenous Games includes a sampling of games involving chance and skill. The Transportation exhibit includes two saddles made of bone and wood, sewn together with sinew. Tamara Ferguson, 18, graduated from E.W. Pratt in June, and intends to pursue a Bachelor of Arts with a focus on Psychology. Of the children’s, games, and transportation exhibits, she explains, “We wanted to portray Indigenous people in real life.

The stereotypes include the stoic, fierce, warrior. However, the history is not all serious, and these lighter exhibits humanize that history. Lacrosse games could involve up to 600 people per side, as the games were often played tribe versus tribe.

”The Hereditary versus Electoral exhibit looks at the modern electoral system versus the traditional hereditary system. Explains Bobbi-De Lastiwka, a current Academic Upgrading student at NLC, “Until the Indian Act of 1876 forced a European model of elected leadership, Indigenous peoples had a traditional system of hereditary chiefs.” To this day, some First Nations communities have an elected chief, whose role is primarily governance, along with a hereditary chief, who holds a significant position of influence and responsibility for ensuring the overall well-being of the community.

The exhibit also includes samples of traditional versus modern tobacco. Explains Virginia Gold, a graduate of Mount Royal University with a degree in Geology and a minor in History, “Traditionally, wild-growing tobacco was collected, dried, and used in ceremony.

Today, this is often replaced by commercial tobacco.”The final exhibit focuses on healing and reconciliation. The jingle dress, worn during a healing dance often performed at powwow ceremonies, takes pride of place. Healing herbs such as sweet grass, sage, cedar, and tobacco, which are utilized in various ceremonies, complete the display. Complementing the students’ healing and reconciliation exhibit is the artistic collage to honour the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls of Canada.

Created by a former summer student who wishes to remain anonymous, the collage includes hundreds of tiny photos of the missing and murdered. Concludes Sam, “I feel my role is to educate people on the TRC, the 94 Calls to Action, and what is means to reconcile. It means a lot to have the opportunity to educate people through this work at the Museum. As a teacher, I will be able to contribute more to the process of reconciliation.

The first step is creating awareness and understanding.” The Native Cultural Arts Museum, which is located at the Grouard Campus, was established in 1976. Recognized by the Alberta Museums Association, the Museum’s artefact collection celebrates various aspects of Indigenous cultures, with a special focus on Métis peoples and the Woodland Cree of northern Alberta.

The Museum’s historical and contemporary collections serve to educate the public by depicting Indigenous lifestyles through exhibits of art, music, hunting, regalia, clothing, and more. The Native Cultural Arts Museum is owned and operated by Northern Lakes College with additional support and funding from the Alberta Museums Association and Big Lakes County.

The Indigenous resilience in Music announced more headlines for the 4-day Rhythm of the People Music & Arts Festival, and Multi-Stream Program initiatives for 2020. The festival, which embodies reconciliation will take place in Calgary on August 13 -16th. Joining A Tribe Called Red on the bill are Soccer Mommy, Quinn Christopherson, CITIZEN, and more.

Indigenous Resilience in Music (IRIM) has also just announced their most anticipated programming to date, the renewed Rhythm of the People. Throughout 2020, this will unfold through three programs: a creative artist residency program focused on language revitalization, a youth music program hosted in Treaty 7 communities, and a music and arts festival housed at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre.

“IRIM is really focussed on building relationships, assisting Indigenous musicians in creating platforms that they can access, and creating better representation of Indigenous peoples in music and the arts,” expressed Curtis Running-Rabbit Lefthand, Executive Artistic Director of Indigenous Resilience in Music. “Currently we’re doing that through the Rhythm of the People Music & Arts festival that highlights Indigenous and non-Indigenous musicians, and the positive relationships we can have together in a community.”

“The National Music Centre is thrilled to partner with IRIM on the multi-stream Rhythm of the People initiative and to provide a space for Indigenous voices to be amplified and recognized,” said Andrew Mosker, President and CEO of NMC. “This partnership is part of NMC’s ongoing commitment to presenting programs that foster reconciliation here in Treaty 7 and across the country.

The Rhythm of the People Music & Arts Festival is determined to embody reconciliation and building positive relationships, as the 4-day fest will be showcasing Indigenous and non-Indigenous musicians spanning across several genres. As previously announced, founders of electric pow-wow A Tribe Called Red are set to play the fest. Joining them will be grunge-wave sensation Soccer Mommy, award-winning Athabas- kan/Inupiaq songwriter Quinn Christopherson, post-hardcore standalone CITIZEN, to name a few. There will also be a major visual arts aspect to this festival curated in partnership with TRUCK Contemporary Art, creating a decolonized arts space. This all will be taking place on August 13-16, 2020, festival passes are already on sale. Second-wave artist announcement will be on May 4, 2020, and all announcements leading up to the festival can be found on IRIM’s socials, Rhythm of the People socials, and website: https://www.irim.ca/festival

The Rhythm of the People Artist Residency focuses on the revitalization of Indigenous languages through song. Taking place from May 4-17, the chosen resident artist(s) will learn (or expand on what they know of) their ancestral language from a knowledge keeper. In the process, they will realize, write, and record music using only this language, and any kind of instruments they require. Once the residency is complete, IRIM will honour the hard work of the resident artist through a fully engineered, mastered, and produced vinyl record of their new music. The program will end with an invitation for the artist(s) to perform during the Rhythm of the People – Music & Arts Festival. https://www.irim.ca/artistresidency

The Rhythm of the People Youth Program is dedicated to empowering youth musicians. IRIM will mentor and guide Indigenous youth to write and record one original song in a professional music studio setting. As an extension to this process, participants will plan and execute the production of a music video that will support the original song created. After the program is completed, the community and Indigenous youth will be invited to perform their written original song at our Rhythm of the People — Music & Arts Festival. This year, the Youth program will take place in these Treaty 7 nations from June – July 2020: Siksika Nation, and Tsuut’inaNation. https://www.irim. ca/youthprogram

IRIM is an Indigenous-led organization with a mandate to create space for Indigenous musicians and support them in mentoring Indigenous youth through music. The organization provides a space for Indigenous youth to reclaim their identity through workshops and artist residencies and a platform for Indigenous musicians to showcase their work.