Natvie Artist dies at 75

Norval Morrisseau dies at 75

PAINTING BY NORVAL MORRISSEAU

This famous painting, the Snake and the Turtle, was by Canadian Ojibwa artist, Norval Morrisseau.

Dec 04, 2007 07:02 PM

Peter Goddard
Visual Arts Columnist

Copper Thunderbird took flight today.

Norval Morrisseau, the great Canadian artist, died at Toronto General Hospital. He was 75.

His death after a long and feisty battle with Parkinson's disease won't be the end of the gritty story of the great Anishinabe painter once called "the Picasso of the north" who signed his canvases "Miskwaabik Animiki" or Copper Thunderbird.

"I've always wanted to be a role model," he told the Star several years back, his words barely audible and slurred even then. "I've always wanted to stay an Indian. I wanted the little kids to know that."

They do.

"He certainly was a role model for me as an art student," said Greg Hill, curator of "Norval Morrisseau – Shaman Artist," the groundbreaking retrospective of the artist's work last year at the National Gallery in Ottawa, which is now at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York.

"He was the first aboriginal artist I was aware of. He will always have that kind of presence."

A member of the Order of Canada, Morrisseau was the sole Canadian painter shown at Paris's Georges Pompidou Centre in 1989 as part of the French celebration of the bicentennial of the French Revolution.

He "spearheaded a cultural renaissance in First Nations arts and culture in the `60s," Phil Fontaine, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said in a statement today. "He taught us to be proud of who we are."

GRAHAM BEZANT/TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO Ojibwa artist Norval Morriseau is seen in this Star file photo taken Sept. 24, 1977.

On Nov. 15, Morrisseau appeared in Ottawa to be awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation. "This is the highest honour we can bestow on our own," said Foundation CEO Roberta Jamieson.

She expects Morrisseau's life and art "will be the centerpiece" of the 15th annual Awards Show, March 7 at the Sony Centre in Toronto.

Morrisseau's dazzling debut show in Toronto that opened Sept. 12, 1962 at Jack Pollock's gallery instantly established the painter's reputation and led to a Time magazine story.

"That was at a time when Canadian First Nations art didn't seem to exist," said Gerald McMaster, the leading First Nations historian and head of the Canadian collection at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

"Morrisseau's presence woke people up. He was the torchbearer. What he did and what he said – aside from his eccentricities – had enormous power and influence over several generations of artists."

Through the `70s and `80s, the painter's "eccentricities" – binge drinking and often a hand-to-mouth street existence – were the despair of his friends and buyers of his work who were uncertain of the authenticity of his paintings.

The artist admitted to this reporter in 2004 that he signed other artist's work "if they needed the money."

Yet surviving the mean streets in Vancouver and Toronto gave him the reputation for being indestructible. "You can't imagine he's actually gone," said a choked-up Hill.

Only a month ago, Morrisseau was taken in a van to A Space Gallery to show an exhibition. "And you could see he was very much alert," said McMaster. "There was a small crowd there moved to tears to see this great man."

Repeated heart problems weakened him noticeably over the past year, said Gabe Vadas, Morrisseau's companion and caregiver since the two meet in the `80s.

"He'd have a great day then he'd have a bad day," Vadas explained. "But he was getting worse."

"So now he's on the next part of his journey," said Jamieson. "We're going to celebrate that. We're beaming pride through our tears."

Harper's new Indigenous Policy

HARPER GOES NATIVE

Jordan Himmelfarb in Mediascout:

The National goes inside with a new bill from the Conservative government meant to help settle Canada’s more than eight hundred outstanding native land claim disputes. The bill proposes the establishment of an independent tribunal of Superior Court judges, which would be charged with the settlement of land claims that have died or have been stalled for at least three years. Under the current, phlegmatic system, in which the federal government is the sole deciding body in land-claims disputes, it takes an average of thirteen years to achieve a settlement. If the bill becomes law, the government will also commit $250 million per year for ten years to work through the hundreds of unresolved claims, only a tiny percentage of which are, as of now, being actively negotiated. Phil Fontaine, the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, co-authored the bill and is quoted on The National as saying: “I’m confident this will work because it’s our process as well.” However, not all native groups are as confident. An article from yesterday’s issue of the Globe details the concerns outlined in a letter from Grand Chief Ken Malloway, chairman of the British Columbia Specific Claims Committee, who argues that the bill was drafted with insufficient consultation and does not offer enough money to deal with the claims in a timely fashion.

For Indians, a time to protest

SHERRY BROWN / Tulsa World Brenda Golden, seen Thursday at the state Capitol, is organizing an American Indian protest of the state’s centennial celebration this week at the Capitol.

By S.E. RUCKMAN World Staff Writer
11/11/2007

A march and rally decrying the state centennial activities are planned.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Brenda Golden mulled the state centennial for months. In the 11th month of the yearlong celebration, the American Indian activist decided to organize an Indian statement for Oklahoma's 100th birthday.

Golden will be among what she hopes are hundreds who will walk one-quarter of a mile from Northeast 16th Street to the state Capitol on Friday in protest of the event.

"The whole idea (the centennial) always bothered me," she said. "I waited and waited for someone else to do something, so I decided to do it."

Golden and other organizers have acquired a permit to put on a three-hour event. It will include speeches from elders, marching, singing and dancing in full regalia. Student groups from across the state have called to lend support to the idea that statehood also has negative connotations, she said.

"I thought if just a hundred showed up, I'd be happy," Golden said. "But I think we'll get more than that."

The protest coincides with other centennial events. State planners, such as Blake Wade, the executive director of the Oklahoma Centennial Commission, said centennial events are intended to educate onlookers about Oklahoma settlement and mark the event.

"In Oklahoma, the No. 1 attraction to the state is Native Americans," Wade said. "I understand who they are and what they're doing."

Shoshanna Wasserman, the marketing director of the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum, said she did not want the events to be one-dimensional and concentrate solely on protest.

"This is a complex issue. I'm just grateful that we live in a free country, where everyone has a rightful voice," she said. "Native people do have a voice in the centennial."

Organizers said they eschewed the idea of protesting in Guthrie, where other commemorative events are slated this week. Glenda Deer, a Kickapoo from Shawnee, said many were offended by a scheduled mock wedding in Guthrie of "Miss Indian Territory and Mr. Oklahoma."

"That's denial, that's not the way it happened," she said. "I want my grandchildren to understand how Oklahoma was acquired. I don't want them to forget it."

Some leaders of the state's 37 recognized tribes have applauded the idea of an organized independent centennial statement. Jim Gray, the principal chief of the Osage Nation, said his tribe of 16,000 chose not to participate in official centennial events.

"I encourage other tribes to hold their own version of commemorative events, so you can say who you are," he said.

(1) readers have commented on this story so far. Tell us what you think below!

1. 11/11/2007 11:08:10 AM, Johnny , Indianapolis
Right on sisters. So called "tribal leaders," many of them corrupted by casino money, will participate in the centennial because they have learned to be lap dogs of the state of Oklahoma. But there are many of us who are well-educated, and see that the state of Oklahoma still refuses to recognize the contributions of native people. Mock wedding indeed, with a Miss Indian territory and Mr. Oklahoma? Wonder how many "Indian princess" stories that will spawn? Why not reenact the murder of hundreds of Land Run participants by the Sooners who jumped the line and cheated on the cheaters? And while they are at it, reenact the Oklahoma history of the theft of billions of barrels of oil by greedy oil barons whose families still enjoy the benefits of that theft. You go girls, and know that I will be there in spirit.

Johnny, nishnabe podwewadmi