Dave Matilpi – FROM THE HEART - Artist of the Month of August

A face that easily breaks into a smile, a gray braid down his back, a feather in his hat, Dave Matilpi is an Elder, a Pow Wow dancer, a teacher, an artist, and a gifted communicator.

Dave Matilpi was born in Alert Bay, British Columbia, which is the traditional territory of the Kwakiutl First Nation. 

Papa Dave, as he is known to many students in the Peace who have been influenced by his insight, humour and wisdom, teaches using his traditional and personal stories. These stories are very often the inspiration behind his art work.  As a self-taught artist, he works in wood, antler, ink, paint and murals. One need only visit the Sagitawa Friendship Centre to view a full wall mural created by Dave or see him dancing in his Pow Wow regalia, created in the traditional style with his West Coast designs to appreciate his artistic abilities.



Dave’s West Coast images are striking and bold in colour, expressing, in some, the well-known characteristics of the Wild Woman or the Summer Sisters (also known as, mosquitoes). These works can all be viewed at the Sagitawa Friendship Centre gift shop. I remember when he first presented at the Museum as the Artist of the Month a couple of years ago, he explained how he was beginning to see a blend of West Coast and northern Cree images in his work – the influence of years of living in northern Alberta.



Stolen Family Teachings

Most recently his work reflects his life’s journey, specifically the impact of attending residential school in Alert Bay. His formative years were spent in Alert Bay Residential School. One can see in the images painted on canvas the inspiration and strength he derives from his traditions to move forward and bring awareness and greater understanding to those who see and hear his stories about this personal journey. These are the works currently on display at the Museum. In them, you will see traditional images freely moving on the canvass within the confining shapes and symbols of his residential school experience. The two dichotomies seem to express the ever present memories with the strength and wisdom of the ancient Elders.

 

Ancestor's Love

 

Dave Matilpi’s art, like the art of Carey Newman’s Witness Blanket, currently on exhibit, help break the silence about Canada’s residential school system and contribute to the national conversation and healing our country is experiencing.  

The Witness Blanket

By Laura Love

Using a traditional quilting style, artist Carey Newman not only weaves cedar together with items from residential schools and government buildings, but the memories and stories associated with them. The 887 objects that were found and retrieved from communities all over Canada relay very profound messages; connecting cultures, traditions and histories.  Like the cast off pieces of fabric from old shirts, blankets, and dresses used to make beautiful patchwork quilts, Newman has taken previously used items that became cast off to create a beautiful memorial.

Giving these items purpose again, the symbolism of many of the objects that were discarded and reclaimed have also given the Witness Blanket an alternate way to speak to Canada’s darker residential school history on many different levels.  He has taken the mundane, the everyday, and the innocent and woven them together in such a way to make us think about the people and experiences behind them. Many items hold multiple meanings – where some people may view them one way and others another. The pair of skates speaks to sports and laughter and community to some, while to others these items may reach a different, deeper meaning.  The small statue of Mary may bring comfort to some, and anxiety to others.  The bricks that are affixed to the blanket may symbolise grand old buildings, but may have been sources of intimidation to others, where terrible things happened behind their ‘beautiful’ facades. Some children even carved their name into them as a way of remembrance of who they were…

Braided hair within the Witness Blanket

The physical objects are woven together by photographs, survivor testimony, newspaper articles and legislation. Some are harder to see and read than others, further developing the symbolism of the Residential forgotten story, emphasizing the struggle to see what was happening in our own country. With faded photographs, and the small, almost illegible text on select tiles, Newman has increasingly created a tough narrative to read, but one that piques our need to understand, encouraging us to try to decipher what the items say. As an artist and one whose family experienced residential school history has been able to articulate the increasingly important story of the Canadian Residential School system using artistic interpretation and personal involvement with survivors. The artistic quilting of these objects create and inspire conversation that help us document and share the Residential School story.

 

Like the traditionally stitched quilt that is passed down from generation to generation, Newman has given Canada a new blanket to appreciate and pass down to future generations.

National Aboriginal Day!

National Aboriginal Day
By Laura Love

Today marks the 20^th anniversary of National Aboriginal Day in Canada. This day was first established in 1996 by Romeo LeBlanc, the Governor General at the time. After a national meeting was organized between The Sacred Assembly of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal spiritual leaders in 1995, it was agreed and encouraged that the federal government declare a ‘National First Peoples Day’ on or around the Summer Solstice as a day of unity, celebration, and to acknowledge the contributions of Aboriginal Peoples to Canadian society. This is also a day of reflection, to not only recognize and celebrate the bountiful gifts given to Canadian heritage by the Metis, Inuit and First Nations, but to also consider the darker side of this shared history.

There is a view that the residential school system is something of the past, an event that has little to no prevalence to today. There were over 150,000 children that went through these schools, 139 of these schools were federally funded across Canada and in Alberta alone there were 25 schools, the last of which closed in 1975. The total number of schools in Canada does not include the additional church run facilities.

Historica Canada has released the newest addition to their one minute history extracts of Canadian history. Most often told from the perspective of the settler, this year Heritage Minutes, instead of using an actor, has included a real live person. This is not a story from past eras, nor a portrayal of a historical figure, it is of a memory of a person that is still living, and of an event that is not so far back into our history that we need an actor to portray it. This acknowledgment of the relevance of residential schools and the impact it has on our contemporary society, can help continue the healing process. 

As a part of this healing process, the museum, in partnership with The Sagitawa Friendship Society, welcome everyone to explore an artistic interpretation of Canadian history by Ha-yalth-kingemecalled, ‘Witness Blanket.’ This exhibit will run from July 1^st to the 27^th of August and as requested by the artist admission is free.

Attached below is the website of Historica Canada where you can find their new video:https://www.historicacanada.ca/