"We are often being portrayed negatively in the media," Andrew Pederson, one of the 13 young native artists featured at Art Gallery of Ontario said; "I want to express who we are as native people."
Stereotypes of Native people are engrained in the minds of many Canadians. Films and literatures reinforce those stereotypes for over a hundred years and a lot of news coverage confirms them. The media often centers on political and constitutional issues, forest fires, poverty and substance or sexual abuse, and little attention is given to their culture and achievements. All of these result in an image of inferiority and a loss of self-esteem among the Native youths.
When Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) became a reality in 1999, it opened doors to Aboriginal artists, writers, actors, and producers with the skills and the means to bring Aboriginal people their own images and messages. Now, Canadians are able to watch programming produced by native people, as long as they are willing to surf up to channel 55 and beyond.
The Network alone is not enough to eradicate deeply rooted stereotypes.
On July 8th, an exhibition of art works by Native youths at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) provided a two-folded opportunity to dispel the plague: It opened a platform for the young artists to reacquaint with their heritage, express their identity, and reclaim their right to define who they are; it also allowed the public to unlearn stereotypes and relearn about Aboriginal people.
(Re)represetnation, the first joint venture of the Youth Council at AGO and Native Canadian Centre Toronto (NCCT), brought together 13 Native youths to produce 12 pieces of art work.
Tannis Nielson is the coordinator of the youth program at NCCT. She runs The One Nation in Unity Youth Program which provides a wide range of activities, including sports, art, media, and even historical study of Indian movement.
“Art is what I can offer the most,” Nielson, an artist herself said, “our focus is the reclamation of art and culture.”
From brainstorming to reality, the whole process took about three months – it would not be possible without the generous help from the Native art community.
Facilitator and photographer, Bernard Ceroux, sat down with each of the youth to help them find their messages and give advice to achieve them with art.
“It is a step by step process,” the Métis photographer said, “You need to spend time with each of the artist, get to know them, and help them to discover what their message is.”
“These are city kids, many of them are just discovering, or re-discovering their heritage,” he continued, “this is the root of what they have done here.”
Each of the 12 pieces of artwork was hanged between an archway in the Walker Court at AGO, adjacent to the signature Baroque Stair. While the youths' original idea is to express unity through uniform canvas size and mediums – mixed media of photography and painting on 3’ by 6’ canvas – a deeper tie found its way in their work.
“The continuity among the group is their keen awareness of their traditions and heritage,” said Ceroux while eyeing on each piece that he had personally involved.
Andrew Pederson, who belongs to Horse Lake First Nation in Hythe, Alberta and now resides in Toronto, named his piece, “The Science of Spirituality.”
His work, mainly a black and white piece, was adorned with red and blue to symbolize protection and resolution.
An eye-catching gesture was found near the bottom of the canvas. There, Pederson laid on the ground with his upper back raised, legs drawn up to the buttock, and elbows rested on the ground. The pose belongs to Chacmool, a Mesoamerican stone statue found in ancient Mexican cities and Maya Civilization.
According to Native spirituality, the hands of the statue hold a vessel, disk, or plate on the stomach where offerings may have been placed or human sacrifices are carried out. Pederson incorporated this to signify death, change, and transformation, and placed multiple images of himself in place of sacrifices.
“The one at the centre is the spirit” Andrews explained, “the old person dies in order to bring about change.”
Symbols and images filled his canvas, each carrying specific meanings. The Mathematics symbol represents who he is now as a student; the belt shows that he is an Aztec dancer, a kind of ethnic dancing mainly found in Mexico; the canoe symbolizes travel as in native writings; the Egyptian symbols argue that Indians are not limited to their own traditions and ideologies.
“There is unity among all kinds of people and we are all equal” Pederson believed, “this [the art work] is a universal outlook of the world.”
Across the atrium was a piece which featured a young lady standing in a busy intersection in Toronto.
A singer, business owner, and a clothing designer, Rosary Spence was not intimidated to stand in front of the people. However, placing herself in front of a camera was still a new and thought-provoking adventure for her.
“Being in front of the camera really put me in the state of prophecy. I have to think through what I am doing, and what message I am communicating,” Spence explained as the audience turned to her work, Money Cannot be Eaten, which prophesized against human developments that harmed the environment.
For others, like Tristan Kyle Martell, just being around his peers created “positive energy.”
"We are honouring our Creator by expressing ourselves as who we are,” Martell said. The rest of the artists resonated.
Breaking from stereotypes of Aboriginal people, the evening ended without the presence of drugs, abuse, or death. What filled the air were appreciations of the Indian culture, and the unity of the people in front of, as well as behind the scene.
“These young artists present a positive image of native people. They are role models in people’s eyes now,” Photographer Bernard Creoux was pleased, “The community benefits from the acknowledgement from the public eye.”