GRSJ224/Cultural Appropriation of Indigenous Arts in Canada

Introduction

Overview

The Indigenous populations in Canada have experienced many historical mistreatments and hardships as the result of the inequality induced by the country’s settler colonialism. The colonial past of Canada as a country involved the destruction of the Indigenous peoples from their lands, languages, and cultures. While "art has always been an integral part the preservation and expression of culture in Indigenous communities," the appreciation of Indigenous arts have being disconnected from the authenticity of its cultural understanding, resulting in the devaluation and distortion of the Indigenous art history, as well as leading to serious economic and cultural cost.

Cultural Appropriation

Cultural appropriation, or cultural misappropriation, is a form of colonialism where elements from one culture are adopted by members of another culture, generally members of the dominating culture. It is considered harmful and disrespectful to the cultural preservation of the Indigenous people as these cultural elements become lost or distorted when they are removed from their originating cultural context. Cultural appropriation "undermines the unique beauty and importance of a culture or community of people, fueling social inequality and injustice."

Brief History

Colonialism

Settler colonialism can be defined by the process of “[replacing the] indigenous populations with an invasive settler society." The indigenous peoples have been in Canada since time immemorial, but the colonial past of Canada as a country involved the destruction of the Indigenous peoples from their lands, languages, and cultures, the settlers perceived the Aboriginal peoples and culture as “savage” and “primitive,” and as unable to survive independently without the intervention of the Canadian government. Not to mention, the Aboriginal peoples acted as an important role upon the early settlement of Europeans in this "unfamiliar territories," as well as valuable military allies during the war between Canada and the United States in the 17th and 18th centuries. Later, increasing numbers of settlers began to arrive, outnumbering the Aboriginal population and settling on the unceded Aboriginal territories.

Indian Act

The Indian Act was a Canadian federal law governing the Indian Status, bands and reserves. It was perceived as "highly invasive and paternalistic" and was seen as an action of forced assimilation, deeming all Indigenous cultural practices as illegal from 1876 to 1951. The Indigenous peoples did not have legal access to markets until after the Indian Act reformed, yet they still struggle to be included in the fair market even to this day.

Indian Residential School System

The Indian Residential School System, developed as a tool of assimilation in order to change the relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the Canadian government, has resulted in a relationship of “fear and conflict.” The Indian Residential School System was established in 1840 and consolidated in 1867 as part of the Indian Act, and under this system, Indigenous children were forcibly separated from their families at a young age and prohibited from practicing their own language and culture. It resulted in 150,000 children “whose cultural identity and cultural connectivity was severely impacted.”

Indigenous Peoples and Cultures

The term Indigenous or Aboriginal peoples refers to the original inhabitants of the land. There are three distinct groups of Indigenous peoples in Canada, the First Nations, the Inuit, and the Métis In the 2016 Canada census (Statistics Canada), over 1.6 million people in Canada were identified as Indigenous, that is 4.9 per cent of the national population. There are over 600 bands and over 2,000 reserves of the First Nations alone (the largest group of the Aboriginal peoples), each with their own distinct history and cultural identity.

Indigenous Arts

History

It is said that Indigenous art has existed as early as the Ice Age, that is sometime between 80,000 to 12,000 years ago. Historically, Indigenous art was seen in the form of "decorative and depicted carvings on stone and bone," its traces can be found in the lower Fraser region of British Columbia. They were originally created for functional use, and some later became decorative art. Indigenous art featured the use of various materials, such as clay and fiber, and the use of traditional imagery on rock, animal skin, and wood. However, due to the policies in the early 19th century against the practice of Indigenous traditional culture, the "Indigenous artistic traditions almost died out"

Artistic Periods

The development of Indigenous art had three distinct periods: prehistoric, contact (or historic), and contemporary.

Prehistoric

The artworks of this period is the least known, and their genre, style, function, imagery and meaning varies from region to region and across the different time periods, especially after the introduction of agriculture. Its examples range from the bone carving of the Marpole culture (500 BCE to 500 CE) to the pottery making of the Iroquoian culture (900–1600 CE).

Contact (historic)

Artworks of this time period are more well-known due to them being collected, sketched and written about, many are currently collected by museums around the world.

Contemporary

Contemporary Indigenous arts refer to Indigenous artworks produced after the 1940's, with its art practices dominated by two major schools, the Northwest Coast Indigenous Art and the Woodland School of Legend Painters. Contemporary practices of Indigenous art vary from painting, sculture, print, graphic novels, to mixed media. (For examples, please see David Alexander Robertson's graphical novel "7 Generations", and Charlene Vickers' "Sleeman Makazin")

Artistic Practices

Six Regions of Canadian Native Art

• Arctic Region: Living in total isolation due to their geographic location, their art ranges from those made to be used for survival and those made with spiritual significance, including the "carvings of variable complexity that were manufactured from walrus ivory, bone, antler and very occasionally stone."
• Sub Arctic Region: As probably the oldest form of Native art in Canada, their arts greatly reflect the Indigenous culture and environment, such as the traditional clothing of "self-styled beads made from bone and shells, coloured hides with plant based dyes," as well as "ceremonial headwear with feathers and fur"
• Southern Great Lakes Region: Living by the Atlantic seaboard and the Missouri River, their art form is greatly connected to the Woodlands Indian Art, ranging from baskets, to beaded necklaces, to model birchbark canoes and to feathered headbands.
• Prairie Region: Their artworks are the "product of the increased mobility and effectiveness in the buffalo hunt that came with the introduction of horses and guns." They produce many personal belonging such as deer hide moccasins, jackets, dresses, leggings and shirts, as well as painting on buffalo hides, with geometric motifs, dream images and other symbols.
• Central Plateau of British Columbia: The plateau people uses textile to create their art, such as making woven blankets from mountain goat hair.
• Northwest Coast Region: This region includes various tribes living on the west coast of Canada, their style is distinguished by the use of form lines and characteristic oval of 'u' and 's shaped forms. The imagery evolved from nature, including "bears, ravens, eagles, and humans or legendary creatures such as thunderbirds." (more information on their symbolism in section 3.4.1)

Norval Morrisseau

Norval Morriseau (1931-2007) was seen as the "grandfather of native art in Canada" and the "Picasso of the North." He was the creator of the Woodland School of Art and a member of the Indian Group of Seven. He acted as a key figure in the Assembly of First Nations indigenous art movement to fight against social prejudices and stereotypes to keep indigenous artistic traditions alive. He is known for his unique artistic style of storytelling through use of bright colours, portrayal of traditional stories, spiritual themes, and the expression of political dissatisfaction in his artworks.

(see Norval Morrisseau's Biography for more information)

Cultural Connection of Indigenous Arts

The Indigenous cultures "emphasize the connectedness of all things," reflecting on experience and values of their culture. It could also be used as a form of worship and acknowledgement, or as a voice to make political and ideological statements. The Indigenous communities have "deep relationship to their immediate environment" and have great ties to the "seasons and nature".

Symbolism

The Indigenous arts are often created with spiritual significance and embody the Indigenous customs, practices, and traditions. Symbolism differs for each Indigenous population and is important in all aspects of Indigenous life and artistic expression. Each image used in Indigenous art has its own symbolism and definition. For example, the Inukshuk (pronounced In-ook-shook) used in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics is recognized as the compass of the arctic, representing direction, navigation, and reassurance. (See the legends and symbology of Indigenous art for more symbols)

Woodland Art Symbolism

• Lines of Power: The lines of power radiating from the heads and bodies of animals and people can transmit and receive information, they vary in length and intensity to indicate the quality of power.
• Lines of Communication: the portrayal of animals and people "joined with flowing lines" indicates the interdependent relationships between the two beings.
• Lines of Prophecy: the use of "narrow ivy-like lines spewing from the mouths" of powerful creatures indicates prophecy.
• Lines of Movement: the use of very short lines clustering around organs indicates "movement and an active attempt at communication with the viewer."
• The Divided Circle: With the circle divided in halves, it represents the dualities in the world, such as good and evil, day and night, sky and earth, honest and dishonest, function and dysfunction.
• X-Ray Decoration: It represents the inner spiritual life through the depicting of inner structures of people and animals.

Cultural Appropriation in Arts

Introduction

Indigenous art includes fashion, painting and drawing, beading, dreamcatchers, jewelry, prints, carving, statuettes, and more. In the context of Indigenous art, cultural appropriation refers to the creation of "art or work that is integral to a particular community, profiting off that work, without being a member of the community who created or cares for that art form" It refers the taking of elements from a culture that they are not a part of and do not have the full understanding of the cultural context. In order to understand Indigenous arts, one should "have an appreciation of where it was fashioned, the lifestyle of its maker, the aesthetic values of the society and more than a smidgeon of information about the spiritual beliefs embedded in the culture." However, the Indigenous arts have been taken and mimicked without consent or permission of the original artist, whether it is to make economic profit just simply as a form of admiration. In addition, cultural appropriation tolerates unethical and low-wage labour to flood the Canadian markets.

“Cultural appropriation amounts to theft. It is the lifting of cultural aspects from underrepresented groups of people, and not only offering nothing in return, but expecting their gratitude for the promotion.”

Devaluation of Indigenous Arts

Cultural appropriation is about power imbalances, there is currently a lack of protection in place for Indigenous artisans in Canada leading to the Indigenous artworks to be consistently undervalued. Inauthentic Indigenous arts are being sold across the country of Canada, they are known as the "knockoff Indigenous art" and are being sold at cheaper prices than the original art, forcing the Indigenous artists to have to compete with these "knockoff" products that are often manufactured oversea for a lower production costs. The inauthentic Indigenous arts such as plastic totem poles, dreamcatchers and carved masks sold at tourist hotspots have been internationally mass produced by non-indigenous artists, making the authentic handmade Indigenous artworks to be seen as too expensive by the consumers.

"Natives don't mass produce their work; what you're getting is directly from the hands that made it, and that is incredibly special” – Jamie Okuma

Nathalie Bertin (a Métis artist) thinks selling knockoff works with romanticized descriptions takes away from the true meaning behind the design: "It completely cheapens the cultural value of certain artworks and the people where the design comes from."

“We see a direct link between the importation of internationally made “Indigenous” items, such as dream-catchers, masks, totems, statues, moccasins, images and other objects, and the devaluation of authentic, Indigenous art.” - Reclaim Indigenous Arts

Nearly 100% of these Indigenous items sold in tourism, museum, and fit shops are produced non-Indigenous workers. The lack of clear product labelling at these tourist shops also makes it hard to distinguish between the authentic and inauthentic arts. It was found that Indigenous peoples make an average of 27.5 per cent less than non-Indigenous, and the rise of "knockoffs" has worsened this situation even more.

"In Canada, some 70 per cent of Indigenous people help support themselves through art" - Jay Soule (Reclaim Indigenous Arts)

In order to respect the Indigenous traditional practice and cultural expression, and to protect Indigenous arts from being appropriated, authenticity certification should be integrated to support "a greater shift toward true reconciliation, and the respect of Indigenous traditions and practices. This could also ensure that Indigenous people have control over how their cultures are represented.

Contemporary Reponses

Reclaim Indigenous Arts

Reclaim Indigenous Arts is an awareness campaign and call to action to demand response from all three levels of government (municipal, provincial and federal) to put in place policies and actions that protect the rights of Indigenous peoples in order to end cultural appropriation of Indigenous Arts in Canada. The organization advocates for copyright, trademark and counterfeit laws to be used to protect the Indigenous Arts.

"The one thing we kept alive through everything, through first contact, colonialism, residential school, the potlatch ban [is our art] ... They took our language. They took our culture away. And this is the one thing we are able to hold onto" - Maynard Johnny Jr.

"Goods with Made in Canada labels and without an artist’s name is often the first sign that it’s made overseas ... Ask the shopkeeper who made the artwork. If they can’t tell you or [don’t know] which community it came from, chances are it is not made by an Indigenous artist." - Nadine St. Louis

Demands

1. Ban of inauthentic arts from entering Canada (whether it is to be sold, displayed, or distributed)
2. The implementation of mandatory cultural awareness-training programs
3. To incur fines and penalties for the selling of inauthentic Indigenous items
4. A process to authenticate Indigenous artwork and products

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) was adopted on September 13, 2007, and it addresses the rights of Indigenous peoples on issues such as: Culture, Identity, Religion, Language, Health, Education, Community. It emphasizes the rights of Indigenous peoples to "maintain and strengthen their own institutions, cultures and traditions" and "prohibits discrimination against indigenous peoples"

Article 11

This article addresses for the Indigenous right to practice and revitalize their cultural traditions and customs, such as archaeological and historical sites, artefacts, designs, ceremonies, technologies and visual and performing arts and literature.

Article 31

This article advocates for the Indigenous right to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions.

Copyright and Trademarks

Under the UNDRIP, the Indigenous arts were aimed to be protected as Intellectual Property, however, the cultural appropriation of Indigenous arts is still a growing concern, the Copyright Act does not acknowledge sufficient Indigenous ownership and could even facilitate cultural misappropriation. While the general ownership of arts are being protected under the Canadian Copyright Act and the Status of the Artist Act, it is the artist's responsibility to cover any legal costs upon their encounter of the appropriation of their artworks.

Canadian Copyright Act

The Copyright Act of Canada is the federal statute of copyright law in Canada, it was first passed in 1921 and followed by several amendments. (To read the full document of the Act)

Current Strategies

The Inuit Art Foundation (IAF) uses a trademark logo to protect the Inuit art from counterfeit. The Cowichan Tribes on Vancouver Island, owns trademarks for names like “Cowichan” and “Genuine Cowichan,” during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the Hudson Bay Company was accused for cultural appropriation for selling their sweaters as part of its official Olympic gear.

Indigenous Art Centre

The Indigenous Art Centre was created in 1965 to "support the creation, preservation and promotion of contemporary Canadian Indigenous art," its Indigenous Art Collection has over 4,300 Indigenous artworks, and all the works as part of this collection are protected by the Canadian Copyright Law with Canadian Artists' Representation fees paid to the artists for the reproduction and exhibition of their works.

External Links

1. Collection on Indigenous Arts (National Gallery of Canada)
2. Indigenous Art Centre (Government of Canada)
3. Indigenous Art Collection (Art Gallery of Ontario)
4. Next 150 Challange: 150 Days of Reconcili-ACTION
5. The Indigenous Art Collection: Selected Works 1967–2017 (Book)