Archives : Indigenous (FNMI) Works from the College Collection

Freddy Taylor was born in 1945 in the Curve Lake First Nation. Freddy was taken from his family at the age of six and placed in a residential school in Brantford, Ontario. After ten traumatic years he returned to Curve Lake First Nation at the age of 16.

After struggling with his identity and searching for his culture for a number of years he turned to painting in 2002. His paintings reflect his personal hardships and those of other residential school survivors as they grapple with the theft or their identities.

Robbie Pachano is an artist and member of the Cree Nation of Chisasibi (James Bay, Quebec).

His hand carved sculpture was a gift from the Creen Nation of Chiasasibi as a thank you gift to Fleming College for the unique partnership in specialized training provided through the Aboriginal Heritage Interpretation Program (2008 – 2014).

Leland Bell is Anishinabe from the Wikwemikong Unceded First Nation on Manitoulin Island. He is Loon Clan and a second degree member of the Three Fires Midewiwin Society.

Leland was one of the young men mentored by members of the Professional Native Indian Artists Association at the Manitou Arts Foundation, a summer school that operated on Schreiber Island in 1972. He was deeply inspired by the work of the Woodland artists and with the help of elders has made the connection between the Anishnabe concept of vision quest and his own commitment to living life as a good being.

Leland Bell's paintings are of stylized human figures sharing the affinity of family or friends, often depicting imagery of nurturing, sharing, learning, peace and serenity.

All the paradigms that sustain his creativity exist within his Anishinabe culture. He says that he absorbs what he needs and discards what he doesn't need from other cultures and is committed to remain Anishinaabe. (http://www.ahnisnabae-art.com/leland-bell.html)

Norval Morrisseau was born in 1931 in the Sandy Lake First Nation. One of seven children, he was raised by his maternal grandparents. After becoming gravely ill as a child, a Medicine Woman gave him the name of Copper Thunderbird to give him strength. Each of his works are signed Copper Thunderbird in Cree syllabics, which he learned from his wife.

Norval was the first Eastern Woodlands artist to translate his culture visually, through acrylic paintings, prints and drawings. He invented the pictographic style, now used by three generations of Indigenous artists. His art expresses his spiritual explorations and aspects of Anishnaabe culture and his personal development.

Norval was awarded the prestigious Order Of Canada Medal in 1978 by the Governor General of Canada for his contribution to Canadian Art.

Jackson Beardy was born on July 24, 1944 at the Garden Hill Reserve in Manitoba. At a young age he was sent to live with his grandmother to teach him traditional Cree traditions. At the age of 7 he was taken away and placed in a residential school in Portage la Prairie. Jackson would later note that the residential school disconnected him from his Cree heritage but allowed him to develop his artistic skills. He went on to study commercial art at the Technical Vocational School in Winnipeg from 1963-1964. When he returned to Garden Hill he felt more like an outside than a part of his community. 

His first art exhibit was at the Winnipeg Art Gallery in 1965 and in 1970 his art was featured in the National Arts Centre in Ottawa to commemorate Manitoba’s centennial. In 1972, his artwork was featured in the exhibit Treaty Numbers 23, 287 and 1171 at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. That year he was also given the Canadian Centennial Medal award. Jackson was also a member of the Professional Native Indian Artists Association, with artists Odjig, Janvier, Norval Morrisseau, Carl Ray, Joseph Sanchez, and Eddy Cobiness.

Throughout the years Jackson also worked as an art advisor and cultural consultant at the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature, the Brandon University's Department of Native Studies, and at the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development in Ottawa, and he illustrated several books. In 1984, he suffered from a heart attack which he recovered from but died of infection a few weeks later at the age of forty.

Norman Knott was born and raised on the Curve Lake First Nation and he remained in this small community north of Peterborough his entire life.

Norman's work shown in this exhibit, entitled "Wolf", is one of a number in the College's art collection. His work draws connections between Ojibwe stories and today through his use of symbolism. His unqiue style has given a wide audience outside of the Kawartha's including art dealers and collectors from across Canada, United States, Great Britain, Germany and Australia.

The works within the College collection are acrylics, but he also worked in oils and watercolour over the years.

Michael Robinson was a Canadian artist, poet, glassblower, and printmaker of Métis heritage. He was born in Toronto in 1948 and died in 2010 at the age of 62. Michael graduated from the Sheridan School of Design in Oakville in 1972. His art had a lyrical and surreal style that captured Canadian history and indigenous cultural values, his concerns about the conservation of natural resources, his respect for the environment, and his spirituality. Michael was most known for his ink drawings and etchings and his art was recognized as part of the Canadian Aboriginal Art movement. He received many national and provincial awards for his artwork.

This print by Michael Robinson is called "Spirit Lodge" and was made through the etching process. This process begins by filing down the edges of a copper plate to prevent paper from tearing when printed. The copper plate is then cleaned with rubbing alcohol and coated with a waxy ground which provides a hard working surface. A design or image is then drawn onto tracing paper and placed on top of the copper plate with a piece of carbon paper separating them. To transfer the image onto the waxy ground of the copper plate the image is traced with a soft pencil. This outline will act as a guide when using an etching needle to scratch the image into the waxy ground to expose the bare metal. The copper plate is placed into an acid bath and the acid will “bite” into the exposed metal leaving behind sunken lines. When the lines are at the desired depth and tone the remaining waxy ground is removed from the plate. The process of creating a print takes about two weeks and the plate is re-inked for every print. Ink is applied to the surface of the plate and then wiped away, leaving only ink in the etched lines. Multiple colours can be used and must be applied at the same time. The copper plate is then put through an etching press with a sheet of paper that has been moistened. When the print is removed from the press it is taped onto a drying board. This helps to prevent the paper from buckling as it dries.