Indigenous Art of the Northwest
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Chief's Raven Rattle by Jay Simeon
The art of the Northwest Coast Indigenous peoples is deeply intertwined with their spiritual, cultural, social and material lives. Born from the supernatural and passed down through generations, it reflects the intimate connection between humans, animals, and the natural and supernatural worlds. This artistic tradition, which includes carving, painting, dancing, and storytelling, has not only served as a means of communication but has also played a crucial role in the preservation and revitalization of Indigenous cultures and properties through hard times. The history of the art can’t really be separated from the history of the oppression that so severely affected it.
Art in Pre-contact Times
In Northwest Coast Native history there was a time before the world was like it is now. During that time clans and lineages were born out of spiritual experiences. The boundaries between this and other worlds were not solid. Beings changed and transformed. Supernatural creatures existed alongside people and animals. Humans and other beings were all related and not different the way they are now. Birds, animals, and undersea creatures lived in villages in the sky, the forest, or under the water. When they returned home they took off their coats of feathers, fur or scales and looked like humans. People privileged to visit these villages returned home bringing spiritual gifts and rights. Families, clan and lineages hold rights and cultural property that come from these experiences - traditional knowledge, names, stories, crests, songs, dances, masks, regalia. These properties and rights also include title to lands and resource sites, and laws and authority to protect them.
Everything was carved in traditional times - canoes, paddles, house posts and walls, boxes, eating utensils, hunting and fishing tools, spiritual tools. Carvings depicted family crests and recorded oral history. They also depicted supernatural beings and events. Carvings were used in theatrical and spiritual performances. Art brought the supernatural world into this world. Travel was by water on the Northwest Coast. Villages were located along rivers or by the ocean. Totem poles faced the water and travellers could read them. Poles told the stories of the people there. They were like address markers or directories. They recorded family histories, genealogies and registered property.
Northern style Indigenous art is generally shared among northern Nations. Two dimensional design is called formline. Carving and painting surfaces has clearly defined rules and principles. The primary formline is usually black. It’s a continuous line that outlines the subject. There is a red formline that outlines secondary details. The third order of spaces are coloured blue or green, or left unpainted. The ovoid and U-shape are elements of the black formline that outline body parts like joints, eyes and ears. Salmon / trout heads are common secondary elements. In expansive designs all spaces are filled and the relationship of body parts is mostly natural. In distributive designs body parts are rearranged so that the subject can be hard to recognize. In southern stye graphic art there is no limit on colours. It is less formal with less rules. Common elements are V-shapes, U-shapes, circles, and the Salish eye.
The Effects of Contact
The central event in northwest Native culture is the potlatch. It’s the centre of the Native economy, government and law enforcement as well as the social and ceremonial life. Potlatches are big, widely attended gatherings in which Chiefly names are passed down along with cultural and physical property. Origin stories and theatrical performances are shared. Traditional songs are sung. In an oral culture, these proceedings have a similar effect to signing contracts and probating wills. Attendees are paid to witness the proceedings. Carvings are created to commemorate them. In the 19th century the Canadian government banned the potlatch and the ban stayed in effect for about 100 years. This potlatch law along with the reserve system, the residential schools system, induced epidemics and other punitive laws and practices had the effect of almost entirely suppressing Native culture on the west coast. Totem poles, masks and other cultural items were destroyed, stolen, or purchased for small amounts then shipped off to museums and other institutions around the world.
Post-contact Recovery
The demand for carved houses, totem poles, canoes and masks ceased. Indigenous artists found ways to preserve their traditions by producing souvenirs and curios for non-Native customers - model longhouses, model canoes and model totem poles. Haida Chief and master artist Charles Edenshaw was one of the first artist to receive fame and recognition outside his own culture. He mainly created argillite carvings and engraved silver and gold jewelry which he made from coins. His influence spread up and down the coast and other Native artists followed his example.
The Kwak’waka’wakw continued practicing their potlatch culture. They continued to carve poles, masks and regalia even though they were penalized for it. They preserved much of their culture. High ranking Chiefs Charlie James, Willie Seaweed and Mungo Martin are prominent artist who were recognized outside of their communities as well as within them. Mungo Martin held the first legal Potlatch in 1953. He brought Native art to pubic attention by carving at UBC in Vancouver and at the BC provincial museum in Victoria. He apprenticed many renowned Native artists.
During the 1950’s the most onerous provisions of the Indian act including the Potlatch ban were rescinded. A hundred years of vigorous suppression of Native culture was easing. A revitalization of west coast Native art and culture began. Haida artist Bill Reid was a major figure. He made the first traditional Haida canoe in modern times. He added repousse and chasing, inlay and lost wax casting to his predecessor’s practice of engraving. He created masterpieces of Native American jewelry. He created great monumental sculptures ‘The Spirit of Haida Gwaii’ and ‘The Raven and the First Man’. Bill Reid apprenticed his grandson Robert Davidson who raised the first modern totem pole in Haida Gwaii. Davidson went on to become a widely recognized artist. During the 198o’s Dorothy Grant with help and encouragement from Bill Reid and Robert Davidson produced the first Indigenous high fashion clothing collection “Feastware”. She’s continues to create Haida high Fashion into the present.
Old totem poles remained standing in all the Gitxsan villages. During the 1950’s there was a movement to preserve them and other cultural items. A museum ‘The Skeena Treasure House’ was established at Gitanmaax in Hazelton. Then during the 1960’s the Gitanmaax School of Northwest Indian Art at Ksan village was opened. Here Gitxsan artists learned and taught with Haida, Tsimshian, and Native artists from all over BC. They studies old pieces from books and museums because so much knowledge had been lost and there was no one to teach them. Artists from Ksan include Walter Harris, Earl Muldon, and Robert Jackson. Tahltan artist Dempsey Bob was instrumental in bring back Tahltan art. On the west coast of Vancouver island Art Thompson, Joe David and Tim Paul were notable. Coast Salish artists Simon Charlie and Ron Modeste advanced Native art on the south coast.
Corey Bupitt Haida Portrait Mask
The Present Revitalization
These pioneers were followed by many great contemporary west coast artist. These include Haida artists James Hart, Jay Simeon, Corey Bulpitt, and Reg Davidson, the late Nisga artist Norman Tait, Gitxsan artists Ron Sebastien, Arlene Ness and Trevor Angus, Tsimshian artists Henry Green and Corey Moreas. Alano Edzerza and Terrence Campbell break boundaries with Tahltan art. Kwak’waka’wakw master artist Beau Dick recently passed away. The Hunt and Scow families have many great contemporary Kwak’wak’wakw artists. Susan Point, Debra Sparrow, Klatle-Bhi, Richie Baker and William Good represent Coast Salish art.
The revitalization of Indigenous art has continued into the present along with language revitalization, and economic revitalization. Today there are artist from all the Indigenous Nations of Coastal BC practicing their cultures and creating art for potlatches and community projects like totem poles, carved walls and sculptures. They also produce art for sale outside their communities from souvenirs, to home decor, to aesthetic art objects, to large scale installations. The Bill Reid Gallery in Vancouver, the Museum of Anthropology at UBC, and the Audain museum in Whistler showcase contemporary Native art as well as historical masterpieces. Commercial galleries in every city are selling carved and painted bentwood boxes, totem poles, wall panels, masks and other artworks. Traditional designs using contemporary materials like glass panels and casted bronze are being produced. Digital Media is also being introduced. Native jewellers all over BC are creating silver and gold engraved jewelry some set with stones. Indigenous markets where consumers can purchase arts and crafts directly from the artist are becoming widespread. Native clothing designers are producing clothes incorporating native themes and fabrics with Native designs. The annual Vancouver Indigenous Fashion week at the Queen Elizabeth theatre grows larger and more impressive every year. Governments and businesses are expressing reconciliation through Native art purchases which benefits the artists’ families and communities.
Richie Baker Mens Wolf Bracelet
Northwest Coast Indigenous art is a revitalization of the splendours of the past and a reconnection to the spirituality of Native culture. It is also a living, evolving tradition that enriches the achievements of the present and will endure for generations to come.
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