Category Archives: MODULE 1

Red: A Haida Manga is a graphic novel written by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas.  He is a Haida visual artist, author, and public speaker.  Yahgulanaas also was an elected Chief Councillor of the Old Massett Village Council and a member of the Council of the Haida Nation.  The story is about a brother and sister who live in a village on the west coast of Haida Gwaii.  One night, the sister is taken by pirates.

“Haida Manga blends North Pacific Indigenous iconographies and framelines with the graphic dynamism of Asian manga.” https://mny.ca/en/biography

This is another example of the meshing of two different cultural forms while not letting the beliefs of one expirate the traditions of the other.  It’s also a very amazing book for all ages!

http://haidagwaiimuseum.ca/

I feel lucky that I was able to visit this museum in person (as I relayed in a previous post, my mom moved from Edmonton to Sandspit in Haida Gwaii) and myself and my family still cherish the time we had there.  Again, this is another great example of Indigenous culture adapting technology from the settler culture.  Museums are a western invention where historical artifacts are displayed, usually out of context, for educational purposes.  The Haida Gwaii Museum governs its facility with a different type of framework:

“The underlying theme running through all permanent exhibitions is the complex link between the land, the sea, human beings and the Supernatural Beings that give Haida Gwaii its incomparable natural and cultural character. Every object, art work and archeological piece offers a narrative focusing on its aesthetics, construct, cultural use, and history as derived from our focus on community-based research.” http://haidagwaiimuseum.ca/

It challenges itself to keep aware of its cultures belief in the land and its narrative traditions while still being educational.  It’s an exemplary museum.

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/476-pieces

I live in South Surrey (South Surreyians call it that to distinguish it from Surrey and because we know that anyone from White Rock who hears someone who lives above 16th Ave. say they are from White Rock will call them out on their lie) and work in New Westminster so I do have a relatively good sized commute.   It is during this time that I have taken a liking to listening to podcasts.

Pieces is a CBC podcast by 19 year-old Jeremy Ratt.  Jeremy is of mixed heritage, indigenous and white, and the podcast is about him exploring his ancestry and how it influences his life today.  This podcast is another great example of the adaptation of technology by Indigenous culture.   His talks with his mother about his past are very thought-provoking; the idea of being poor and not knowing it raised questions with both my kids when we were listening to this in our vehicle.  It made them stop and think about the advantages they have because of our affluence and culture; not always an easy subject with a 11 and 14 year old.

https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/norval-morrisseau/biography/

I was first introduced to paintings of the indigenous canadian artist Norval Morrisseau when I was living in Nanaimo.  A professor at Vancouver Island University (though it was Malaspina College back in my day…) showed our class some different pieces as examples of ways that parts of a culture adapts to the surrounding cultures that influence it.  Two days later, at my job as an optican in an Optometrist office, a gentleman came in and asked if I could put this new prescription into an old pair of glasses.  The Name on the prescription was Norval Morrisseau (no, the guy standing in front of me wasn’t him; just a friend).  I stared for a second at the piece of paper and said, “I just studied about him in my anthropology class.”  The gentleman smiled and asked if I could take care of the glasses… which I did.

I believe that Morrisseau’s works are a fantastic example of Indigenous cultures adapting to other cultures and technology.  He was highly influenced by the art of surrounding cultures, incorporating some aspects of it, but never forgets his own cultural traditions.  I especially love his use of such vibrant palette; colours that were not used in traditional indigenous art.  Yet he never loses touch with his connection to the land or his history; there are always aspects there in his works.

His friend picked up the  finished glasseshim, so I never met Morrisseau, but I have always felt a connection with him and his paintings… and that’s my brush with fame.

My mom moved from Edmonton to Sandspit in Haida Gwaii (that is a story unto itself).  Before myself and my family went to visit, I wanted everyone to know something about the history of where we were going and I chose this book for all of us to read.  This fictionalized retelling of first contact for the Haida Nation and it’s subsequent fall to near extinction was written by Christine Harris, a canadian writer who worked with cultural anthropologist Wilson Duff and Haida ancestors to make sure the work was ethnographically accurate.

My family found this book so readable and I was surprised about how much information my daughter and son remembered; especially when we went to the Skidegate Museum.  It also gave them a first hand look at what first contact did to Indigenous Nations, not only in Haida Gwaii but across the continent.

Gord Downie’s work to spread the story of Chanie Wenjack has been an spread across Canadian School’s and acted as an important piece of the puzzle in terms of understanding the horror of residential schools. The Downie Wenjack Fund is a non profit organization that works to spread this story, The Secret Path, and to bring light to many other indigenous topics. One of the things the organization does that I would like to highlight is their Artist Ambassador Program. The organization works to bring in Indigenous, and non Indigenous artists into schools across Canada to help open a discussion about reconciliation. I think that this initiative does an incredible job of both opening the discussion of residential schools, and also amplifying the voices of Indigenous artists. The website provides information about all of these Artist Abassadors, I look forward to diving in to learn more.

In his TED talk from 2019, Albert Wiggan counters the commonly held western belief, that Indigenous Knowledge is simply traditional or ecological science. Instead, he claims we should beging to look at it as science. It is founded on the same emperical principals as western science. Furthermore, Indigenous knowledge should be integrated into all mainstream industries.