Mouse Woman drawing by Luke J. Parnell



The Beat


A monthly newsletter about the art of

First Nations on Canada’s West Coast


Welcome to the seventeenth issue of The Beat, a free, independent newsletter that brings you up-to-date on the art events of the First Nations on Canada’s Pacific Coast.


We respectfully acknowledge the Coast Salish Peoples, on whose traditional territories we live and work, and all the First Nations of the Pacific coast.

Peace and goodwill to you all in 2009!

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Walter Harris 1931-2009

A much-loved leader and influential artist from Kispiox near Hazelton in northwestern British Columbia died in January 2009. Walter Evans Harris inherited the title of Chief Geel, an honour his family will now pass on to his niece Cathy Blackstock.

In the 1970’s Walter became involved in the creation of the wonderful 'Ksan Historical Village and Museum at Hazelton. The 'Ksan Village project inspired Walter to immerse himself in the study of the traditions of his distinguished family and of the Gitxsan nation. Walter was commissioned to create art which can be found around the world: in Japan, in Paris, in Baltimore, San Francisco, Ottawa, Kitimat and Vancouver. In Vancouver alone, you can seek out his work at the UBC Museum of Anthropology, at the Vancouver Art Gallery, at the Vancouver Airport, and at the Royal Bank Tower on Georgia Street. Walter’s work enhanced the ancient village of Kispiox with its monumental art tradition which inspired BC artist Emily Carr a century ago. Walter spearheaded the project to move and care for the remarkable old poles there, and himself carved a pole and beautiful doors for the Band Office there. In the North it is a great sign of distinction for a chief to raise a pole.

In the 'Ksan Historical Village, Walter not only carved the first pole but was also Senior Instructor at the art school from 1972 to 1985. In 2003 he was awarded the Governor-General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts. At 73, Walter was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Walter’s family has paid tribute to this outstanding leader with traditional rituals and feasts for the community.


The Vancouver Art Gallery has released a publication to accompany The House of the Ghosts, an art installation work by Kwakwaka’wakw artist Marianne Nicolson of the Dzawada’enuxw tribe. The work was on the VAG’s Georgia Street façade from October 2008 to January 2009. During Vancouver’s snowy holiday nights, the work magically transformed the neo-classical north façade of the of the former courthouse into a brilliant and monumental First Nations feast house. The Beat November 2008 has additional background information. The informative essay by VAG curator Kathleen Ritter in the booklet describes the iconography of the work. This publication is available in the VAG shop for $2.00. Marianne Nicolson also created a limited edition print related to the work which can be purchased at the Vancouver Art Gallery. For more on the work, see http://www.vanartgallery.bc.ca/the_exhibitions/exhibit_next_marianne_nicolson.html

The exhibition opening at the Vancouver Art Gallery on February 7 2009 How Soon is Now: Contemporary Art from Here aims to present the “most compelling artists working in the region” and includes work by several First Nations artists (see The Beat January 2009), among the 34 artists chosen. As well, a work by Stan Douglas has an aboriginal theme: the film and photo installation Klatsasson is based on the story of a Tsilhoqot’in leader executed after leading an insurrection against the encroaching white settlement. The show runs until May 3 2009.

Events associated with the show include a Curator’s Tour by Kathleen Ritter on Thursday February 19 at 7 pm. More information on these and later events, see the VAG website at http://vanartgallery.bc.ca


Jon Tupper, currently director of the Confederation Centre Art Gallery in Charlottetown PEI has been appointed Director/CEO of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and will take up his position in March.


In January a public preview event was held at the Fort Langley National Historic Site east of Vancouver. Kwantlen First Nation carver Drew Atkins presented a model of the art project he will construction inside the walls of the re-created Hudsons Bay Company fort and trading post that stood by the Fraser River in the nineteenth century. His design recalls the Fort’s fish shed where First Nations women and children processed salmon for storage. Four Coast Salish “house boards” in pierced steel and a carved post-and-beam structure will tell the story of the Sto:lo First Salmon Ceremony.

Artist Drew Atkins carved three large cedar panels in 2008 for the Fort Langley Spirit Square project near the Fort.


The Talking Stick Festival is currently brightening a grey February in Vancouver. The Festival is part of an extensive series of events sponsored by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC), and is part of the 2009 Cultural Olympiad.

The Talking Stick Arts Festival opened an exhibition of work by First Nations artists on Sunday February 1 2009 at the Roundhouse in Vancouver. The first show, Clearing a Path, presents new takes on traditional Indigenous art in Saskatchewan. Creating a Legacy is actually several contemporary art projects with emphasis on photography: Community Carving Experience, features a Kwakwaka’wakw canoe carved by the students of Britannia Secondary and Primary Schools under the guidance of Mervyn Child. Also on view are Through Our Eyes – MacLeod Lake, and Portraits of Resilience – Shishmaref, Alaska. The exhibitions continue until February 12 2009.

The official opening of the Talking Stick Festival is the Gala on Monday February 9 where entertainment will range from Inuit throat singers to a Metis fiddler. Over the next two weeks there will be plays, storytelling, contemporary and traditional dance groups, an abundant and creative feast of First Nations creativity. For details on the many Cultural Olympiad events between February 1 and March 21 2009, see http://www.vancouver2010.com/culturalolympiad


Raven Stole the Sun is a play by award-winning Ojibwa writer Drew Hayden Taylor, performed by the Red Sky Theatre as part of their extensive schedule of touring performances of dance, theatre and music. The company, led by artistic director Sandra Laronde, “explores the artistic landscape where world indigenous cultures merge”. The company will perform at the North Vancouver Centennial Theatre on Sunday March 8th at 2 pm. For more information or to make additional bookings, see http://www.redskyperformance.com


In Prince Rupert in northern British Columbia, the All Native Basketball Tournament opens on February 6 with traditional First Nations dance performances. In conjunction with the popular basketball tournament, the city is also sponsoring the first annual All Native Film Festival from February 6 to 14 2009, with free admission. The films and documentaries purchased for the festival will initiate a Native Media Collection to be housed and available for loan at the Prince Rupert Public Library.


The Carving Shed in Prince Rupert is in danger of being shut down. The building, where people can drop in and meet First Nations artists at work on their art projects, is located between the city hall and the Museum of Northern British Columbia, and is a joint project of the two entities. The studio has been open more than 20 years, and provides a distinctive tourist attraction for a city currently enduring an economic crisis. The artists working there were given one week’s notice on February 1st of a threatened eviction. Our wonderful Mouse Woman logo for The Beat resulted from a contact made initially at the Prince Rupert Carving Shed with artist Luke Parnell.

If you wish to draw attention to the carving shed issue, Jack Mussallem, the Mayor of Prince Rupert, can be reached by email at: jmussallem@princerupert.ca


Canadian composer Bruce Ruddell has created a new musical composition Vigil dedicated to the women, murdered and missing, of the downtown east side of Vancouver and the “Highway of Tears” in northern British Columbia. Many of these were First Nations women. It will premiere at 2 pm on February 21 2009 at Christ Church Cathedral at 690 Burrard Street in Vancouver. The piece will be performed by the Borealis String Quartet and Christ Church Cathedral’s fine choir. Admission is $20, $15 for students and seniors.

In 2002 Anishnabe artist Rebecca Belmore had an exhibition The Named and the Unnamed paying tribute to these murdered women, including a video of her moving performance Vigil.


The exhibition will travel to Victoria’s Royal British Columbia Museum in 2010. The beautiful exhibition of Coast Salish art at the Seattle Art Museum, S’abadeb – The Gifts: Pacific Coast Salish Art and Artists, ended on January 11 2009. The museum hosted special events to mark the closing: a lecture on Salish weaving by Crisca Bierwert of the University of Michigan, and a film series Projecting Cultures: Native Voices and the Moving Image.


Also in Seattle, the Stonington Gallery is featuring Salish Penelakut Maynard Johnny Jr. as its February artist. His show, a sample of which can be viewed online, includes prints and work in other media. Maynard will give an exhibit talk and walk-through on Thursday, February 5, 6 to 8 pm. See http://stoningtongallery.com


The Kitselas Canyon National Historic Site was honoured with the Aboriginal Tourism Association of BC’s Cultural Authenticity Award for its contribution to ensuring cultural authenticity in the tourism industry. The historical site in the beautiful canyon of the Skeena River is near Terrace British Columbia. See The Beat August 2008, or http://kitselas.bc.ca


Vancouver’s Grunt Gallery is preparing a multi-media exhibition for Ottawa which will explore hip-hop influences on contemporary, urban First Nations artists. The show, at the SAW Gallery, will be part Ottawa’s BC Scene art festival based at the National Arts Centre and including many other events all over the city in April and May 2009. More in later issues of The Beat. See http://www.bcscene.ca


Haida fashion designer Dorothy Grant invites you to a Fashion Show and Luncheon at the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art at 639 Hornby Street in downtown Vancouver. The show on Thursday February 12 at 12 noon features Ms. Grant’s 2009 collection of clothing. The proceeds will benefit the Bill Reid Gallery. Members of the Gallery pay $40, non-members $45; the price includes admission to the gallery, the show and lunch. Please reserve your seat by calling 604 682 3455, or email guestservice@billreidfoundation.org


The work of Haida artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas will be in several shows this year: Continuum at the Bill Reid Gallery, in a group show Challenging Tradition: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast at the McMichael Canadian Collection near Toronto in June and another at Vancouver’s Museum of Anthropology in the fall. He is currently occupied with installing his works Coppers from the Hood and Pedal to the Meddle at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary. The next Haida Manga production is an illustrated hardcover book called RED published by D & M Publishers Inc. later in 2009. RED will be exhibited in Vancouver in 2009 and again in Calgary in 2010. A Bravo documentary on Michael and Marianne Nicholson will be broadcast in the fall of 2009. Michael and his nephew Chris Auchter have just finished a second animation work to be broadcast later this spring which retells a Bill Reid story.

Currently Michael’s animated Haida Anime story Flight of the Hummingbird is featured on YouTube. Note that YouTube rates his film a very high 4 ½ stars out of 5, and, at the time of this publication, had over 27,000 viewings.


In Washington DC, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian is putting its collection of 800,000 objects on the Web. The first phase of the project has just been launched, beginning with a first stage group of 5,500 items and photographs. The Museum estimates that it will take about four years to complete the online resource.


Coast Salish artist Lawrence Paul Yuxwelupton is installing a large carved wall relief in the new Community Centre in West Vancouver, located at the corner of Marine Drive and 21st Street. The theme of the work refers to the Centre’s role as a “healing and a gathering place” for people. The Centre will be opened on March 28 2009. There will be more information on the Centre’s works of First Nations art in the March issue of The Beat.


British Columbia’s First Nations leaders gathered on February 2 2009 for the public announcement of plans for the Aboriginal Pavilion for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Vancouver. The executive director of the Four Host Nations, Tewanee Joseph called the 8,000 sq. ft. structure “the world’s biggest potlatch”. It will include a media sphere and a large Trading Post with objects for sale. Programming will include aboriginal dance, music and theatre performances. While some were disappointed that the structure will be temporary, others feel that the Host Nations (the Squamish, Tsleil-waututh, Musqueam and Lil’wat peoples) may take the path of eventually having their own distinctive cultural centres. In Whistler, the beautiful Squamish-Lil’wat Cultural Centre has been open since the summer of 2008.


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Comments, news and new subscribers to this free newsletter are welcomed. Please write to: editor@coastalartbeat.ca

Past issues are available at our website http://www.coastalartbeat.ca

Thank you to David Dumaresq, Ya ya Heit, Kathleen Ritter, Bonnie Allan, Anna Strankman, Martin Landmann, and many others, for your assistance. If you are searching for particular stories covered in past issues, try searching with Google.

The Beat is an independent, not-for-profit project written and published in Vancouver Canada by Ann Cameron.

Copyright 2009 Ann Cameron.