WPG Home

About The Gallery

Exhibitions

Upcoming

Commissions and
Special Projects

Collections

Archives

Touring

Public Programs

Reel Time Film Series

Publications/Research

Media Releases

Work Study Opportunities

Curatorial Residencies

Banff International Curatorial Institute

Visual Arts

Partners/Sponsors

Contact

Subscribe to Email Updates

Hours and Location

Facility Details

Consider the diverse elements of the land – grasses, earth, trees, water, rock, and the wind’s breath. Reflect upon an ancient sacred geography that continues to navigate people through life. Then, contemplate personal maps shaped from history, memory and experience.

Artists Delia Cross Child, Faye HeavyShield, Frederick McDonald and Lionel Peyachew introduce us to their home territories. Although born and living within Treaty areas 6, 7 and 8, they articulate contemporary Aboriginal perspectives within a distinctly "post-Treaty" context that underscores deep personal and cultural connections. The exhibition becomes a collective map connecting history and community with place.

For nearly two hundred years, First Nations communities have entered into treaties with newcomers to this land. However, the treaty process belied the "true spirit and original intent" of Aboriginal leaders who believed they were negotiating a peaceful agreement to share the land and to ensure their communities’ survival. This misunderstanding set in motion a complex "struggle over geography" that continues to this day.

Early treaties focused largely upon peace and only secondarily on land. However, as pressures for settlement and expansion increased with Canadian confederation, emphasis shifted to land acquisition. While numbered treaties were substantially similar, each dealt with particular circumstances. Treaty 6 (1876) in Alberta and Saskatchewan and Treaty 7 (1876) in Alberta addressed the need to develop land for settlement and farming along major transportation routes. Access to the Klondike gold field was a strong focus of the government in negotiating Treaty 8 (1899) in northern Alberta, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. Development of the national railway to open the western territories for exploration, settlement and industry became a significant factor in many treaties.

The works in this exhibition transcend both the popular notions of geography and the limitations of the treaties. Together, the artists embark upon their own cultural mapping. Welcome to their territories.

Lee-Ann Martin
Guest Curator

INFORMATION ON INDIAN TREATIES

Treaties (general)
http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/dfrp-rbif/treaty-traite.asp?Language=EN
http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/cantreat.html
http://collections.ic.gc.ca/treaties/code/
http://www.aboriginalcanada.gc.ca/abdt/interface/interface2.nsf/engdoc/4.html
http://www.bctreaty.net/
http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/pr/info/is30_e.pdf

Treaty 6
http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/pr/trts/trty6_e.html
http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/cantreaty/treaty6map.html
http://www.sicc.sk.ca/saskindian/a79aug04.htm
http://www.usask.ca/nativelaw/treaty6.html
http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/8328/treaty6.html
http://www.sicc.sk.ca/bands/treaty6.html
http://www.smokylake.com/history/native/treatysix.htm

Treaty 7
http://www.treaty7.org/
http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/pr/trts/trty7_e.html
http://www.head-smashed-in.com/frmblack10.html
http://www3.gov.ab.ca/just/justicesummit/consult/crep4b.htm
http://collections.ic.gc.ca/Alberta/fn_metis/treaty7_map.html
http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/calgary/treaty7.html

Treaty 8
http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/pr/trts/trty8_e.html
http://www.treaty8.org/
http://www.archives.ca/05/0513_e.html
http://www.albertasource.ca/treaty8/
http://www3.gov.ab.ca/just/justicesummit/consult/crep4c.htm
http://www.usask.ca/nativelaw/treaty8.html