Métis artist Dylan Miner re-examines historical truths from an indigenous perspective in a contemporary art exhibit that will open Oct. 26 at Bank Street’s Gallery 101.
Waasawaabaaminaa/Prophecies focuses on aboriginal prophets and their teachings, says Miner. He explains the exhibit arrives in a timely year for indigenous prophecies: 2012 marks the anniversary of the War of 1812, from which important native leaders emerged, and the year of the Mayan-predicted doomsday.
Reminders of these moments, fused with themes such as indigenous-settler relationships and the effects of the capitalist economic system, inform the exhibit’s various artworks, says Miner.
Among the pieces to be shown are relief prints carved on canoe paddles and a series of outdoor fireplaces. Such works examine indigenous migrations and the importance of fire in teachings, Miner says.
Laura Margita, director of Gallery 101, says Miner will be the most recent in a series of artists who have used the gallery to explore aboriginal issues through art. For about six years, the not-for-profit, artist-run gallery – located upstairs at 1-301½ Bank Street, across from the Hartman’s grocery – has maintained a focus on indigenous programming.
“For a long time, artist-run centres have known, like the rest of Canada, that there’s been vast inequities between the dominant culture and the aboriginal culture,” Margita says.
By creating a space for indigenous artists like Miner to display their work, Gallery 101 is working to reduce those inequities, she says.
Earlier this year, the gallery hosted events for the Asinabka Festival that focused on indigenous media and arts.
The Asinabka festival aimed to show “a continual presence” of the native community in Ottawa, and create “a permanent forum” for art and expression, says Christopher Wong, co-director of the festival. Much like Miner’s show, the Asinabka Festival found inspiration in historical Native American leaders.
Wong recalls Tecumseh, the Shawnee chief who led a unified, aboriginal rebellion in the U.S., and whose alliance with British and Canadian forces was key to thwarting a U.S. invasion during the War of 1812.
Tecumseh is widely seen as a symbol of aboriginal resistance to the American government’s violent displacement of native communities and the imposition of Eurocentric notions about land ownership.
“With Asinabka, we wanted to revisit that idea that this space doesn’t just belong to one person, or one nation or one culture, it’s here for free for everybody . . . to enjoy and share ideas,” Wong says.
Miner says he hopes visitors will find new perspectives in Waasawaabaaminaa/Prophecies.
From his selection of diverse media to the indigenous take on historical themes, Miner says he anticipates the exhibit will promote critical thinking on the issues he presents.