Norval Morrisseau's Final Resting Place

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-KEEWAYWIN FIRST NATION
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Norval Morrisseau (1931/03/14 - 2007/12/04) was buried next to his wife Harriet Morrisseau* (1935/10/11 - 1995/05/11) at cemetery in Keewaywin First Nation, Ontario, Canada.

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* - née Kakegamic (sister of Henry, Joshim and Goyce Kakegamic - founders of the Triple K Cooperative in 1973, a silkscreening company that reproduced their own work, as well as that of other artists like Paddy Peters, Barry Peters, Saul Williams, and their brother-in-law Norval Morrisseau)

CODE FOR LONG LIFE AND WISDOM

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"Thank Kitche Manitou for all his gifts.

Honour the aged; in honouring them, you honour life and wisdom.

Honour life in all its forms; your own will be sustained.

Honour women; in honouring women, you honour the gift of life and love.

Honour promises; by keeping your word, you will be true.

Honour kindness; by sharing the gifts you will be kind.

Be peaceful; through peace, all will find the Great Peace.

Be courageous; through courage, all will grow in strength.

Be moderate in all things; watch, listen and consider; your deeds will be prudent."

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Source: OJIBWAY HERITAGE - The ceremonies, rituals, songs, dances, prayers and legends of the Ojibway; author: Basil Johnston; Copyright ©1976 by McClelland and Stewart; ISBN 0-7710-4442-9

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* The painting in this posting: "Heavenly Twins Give Gift of Life", 51"x61", © c. 1970s Norval Morrisseau /Private Collection/

Norval Morrisseau's "Children of Mother Earth"/"Enfants de la terre nourricière"

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"The Art of Norval Morrisseau In Porcelain"
("L'art de Norval Morrisseau sur porcelaine")
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Limited edition series of four collector's plates entitled Children of Mother Earth* (Enfants de la terre nourricière) were comprised of Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. The set (Edition of 2500; each plate is 9 3/4" DIA) was based on Norval Morrisseau's designs produced in Germany (1983) by Anna-Perrenna, from the very finest Rosenthal porcelain. Each plate have original satin lined box, certificate of authenticity and were individually signed by Norval Morrisseau. There is also a booklet that came with the set, called "The Art of Norval Morrisseau In Porcelain" ("L'art de Norval Morrisseau sur porcelaine").
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Note: Even the edition was of 2500 only about 500 sets were actually produced.
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* © Norval Morrisseau

Honouring Moses (Potan) Nanakonagos

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"Norval Morrisseau's maternal grandfather"
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"It is only his name I want to mention (when asked by Selwyn Dewdney* to fill a genealogy form), so that in one way or the other his good heart, his good teachings shall be repayed. Of my actual father I saw little... I knew he was not my father but I began to love and respect him more and more as I advanced in years, as this was all a part of me and I must carry on his wisdom."-

Norval Morrisseau

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* Selwyn Dewdney - Art aducator and noted expert on Ojibway art and anthropology. Edited Norval Morrisseau's book "Legends of My People, The Great Ojibway" /Toronto, Ryerson Press, 1965/-

A still image of Moses (Potan) Nanakonagos © CBC

Recommended readings (Part IV)

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"I AM AN INDIAN", © 1969 BY J. M. Dent & Sons (Canada) Limited;
Edited by George Kentner Gooderham
ISBN 460-92551-2
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This book was the first anthology of Indian literature published in Canada. It had been written and illustrated by men and women who are called Indians, but who think of themselves as Sioux or Salish, Ojibway or Delaware, Abnakis or Assiniboine. Here is a glimpse into an Indian world - a world of wars and treaties, honour and treachery, wealth and degradation. Indian stories, songs, and poems from all areas of Canada have been included so that others may enjoy some of the fun that is Blackfoot fun, meet some of the heroes that are Cree heroes, and learn some of the wisdom that is Kwakiutl wisdom.
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The reader will be able to find out about some of Canada's Indian "rebels" from the "inside". He will be able to share the experiences of a young Assiniboine boy whose parents both die violently in a tragic set of circumstances uniquely Canadian. Included, too, is the story of the young Okanagan who became Canada's first Indian Member of Parliament.
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The Indian people here offer to share the experi­ences and thoughts of their Canada - too long neglected - and which form a vital part of the heri­tage rightfully belonging to all who call themselves Canadians.
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Cover illustrations:
The upper picture, "Canadian Geese", is by Francis Kagige (Ojibway for "Forever"), a self-taught Odawa Indian from Manitoulin Island, Ontario; The lower picture, "Thunderbird Fish", is by Norval Morriseau, whose Indian name is Copper Thunderbird. Mr. Morriseau is an Ojibway, born and raised in the area northwest of Lake Superior.

STORIES BEHIND THE PAINTINGS (Great Life Adventures of Norval Morrisseau) - Part I

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"THE SLEEPING GIANT", Thunder Bay, Ontario, © Richard Ogima

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NORVAL MORRISSEAU: ISLANDS WITHIN

By Denese Izzard, Gabriola SOUNDER

Friday, 25-March-2005

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From Thunder Bay, Manitoulin Island, Toronto, Jasper Alberta, Santa Fe, Vancouver to Nanaimo, Canada's national treasure, Norval Morrisseau born to power of place, found the power to be.

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Starting his venturesome life at Sandy Lake Reserve (born in Fort William, now Thunder Bay), the man known as father of "The Woodland School of Art" knew as a child that he was on a mission not to lose his people's culture. The artist's way would preserve it, defying tribal taboos against revealing sacred tales to the outside world.

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Mother Ojibway, father Métis, Morrisseau was raised in traditional manner by maternal grandparents. A medicine woman gave him the protective name, his now famous signature "Copper Thunderbird."

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Later like lightning before rumbling thunder, Norval would wield his paint brush on plywood panels, brown wrapping paper, and birchbark scrolls, making images come alive from stories passed down from shaman to shaman for thousands of years, told to him by his own grandfather, Shaman Moses "Potan" Nanakonagos, sixth generation Ojibway.

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Throughout his career, Norval would dream dreams and have visions. His astral travels took him to the House of Invention, his source of inspiration for both content and colour. There he learned that ions and electrons were an underlying force that radiated from a colourful palette - that colour therapy can cure people. With ancients as guides telling him that heaven is "as above, so below," images were brought through him and out of him. Yet he felt he was only an instrument.

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Morrisseau's art continued to reveal original designs and illuminate history with new information. "My art speaks and will continue to speak, transcending barriers of nationality, language and other forces that may be divisive, fortifying the greatness of the spirit that has always been the foundation of the Ojibwa people."

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In the 1950s, working in a gold mine in Cochenour, struggling to sell his work at the Fergie McDougal General Store, the artist was discovered by Dr. Joseph and Esther Weinstein. Amazed by Morrisseau's talent, they bought everything he painted while he was still employed at the gold mine. Then in 1962 art dealer Jack Pollock paid a visit to Beardmore, Ontario. Overwhelmed by Norval's canvases, an exhibit was planned for his Toronto gallery. A huge sensation, the show sold out.

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"SACRED BUFFALO WORSHIPPERS", 35"X52", c. 1964 © Norval Morrisseau /Collection of Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta/

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A few years later Norval's "Sacred Buffalo Worshippers" graced Calgary's Glenbow Museum, drawing rave reviews. It was unlike any art work that had been done before.

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One of Canada's most accomplished painters, Morrisseau has exhibited throughout North America, France, Germany and Norway. In 1989 he was the only Canadian painter invited to exhibit at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris to mark the bicentennial of the French Revolution. A member of the Order of Canada and the Royal Canadian Academy of Art, Norval Morrisseau holds the eagle feather, the highest honour awarded by the Assembly of First Nations.

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Morriseau also caught the attention of the greats. Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall attended a show of his works at a solo exhibition at the Galerie St. Paul, in St. Paul-de-Vence, France (1969), where Chagall remarked, "Norval Morrisseau's work bears the hallmark of a Picasso of the north." A clear reference to the originality of the work and its break from hidebound precedents that had characterized native North American art.

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All considered, the mid-1980s were a difficult time for Canada's world famous artist who, after a failed business attempt, ended up on the streets of Vancouver.

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In 1987 he met Canadian-born Hungarian Gabor Vadas, a remarkable young man, who helped him to get back on track. Said Morrisseau, "He's the son I've been dreaming about for 20 years." He also became the artist's muse. Then Vadas met future French-Acadian wife, Michele. By the time sons Robin and Kyle arrived, Norval had a built-in family. In White Rock, living in a 2-storey home, Gabe built an artist's studio with skylights, stained glass door, and deck facing the waterfront. These years resulted in some of his best work.

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The internationally acclaimed painter has exhibited throughout North America, France, Germany and Norway. Internationally recognized at age 73, Norval Morrisseau is bound for immortality.

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Today his life fully lived, he resides in a Nanaimo carehome, relatively comfortable after a stroke and Parkinson's Disease confined him to a wheelchair. The Vadas' spend most every day with the nation's artistic treasure - going for drives in the country, walks on the sea wall, or at their home.

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Artistic royalty, nearly iconic, Morrisseau sits stoically in a large leather recliner, TV on. Not wanting to lean into his space, the writer kneels, dares to touch the hand of the Grand Shaman of the Ojibway. His deep brown eyes darken, rest on the stranger. Breaking the spell, Michele places a cup of coffee on his sidetable and sits down, opening an impressive album of Norval Morriseau paintings, vital to the screenplay she's working on.

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"THE FAMILY", c. 1990s, © Norval Morrisseau /Collection of Gabor and Michele Vadas/

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Featured on a wall is another dynamic work portraying "The Family" - Norval, Gabe, Michele and Robin. Michele says, "I wouldn't sell this painting for anything."

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Years ago Robert and Signe McMichael, founders of the McMichael Collection at Kleinburg, Ontario, invited Morrisseau to stay in Tom Tomson's cabin on their property. Michele recalls, "Before he died, McMichael said he believed that when Canada 'disappears,' Morrisseau will remain. I believe history will note that Norval will be better known than Picasso. He's more original."

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Source:

* Text - from "Gabriola SOUNDER" - Gabriola Island, BC Community Newspaper Website; Text addition/correction: Spirit Walker

* "Sacred Buffalo Worshippers" - from Exhibition Booklet "The Art of Norval Morrisseau and The Writings of Basil H. Johnston"; an exhibition presented in conjuction with Glenbow Museum's Summer 1999 theme "Powerful Images".

* "The Family" - from "Coghlan Art Studio & Gallery", Aldergrove, British Columbia, Canada

THE MORRISSEAU PAPERS (Part II)

An Inside Story
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ROBERT'S STORY

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It all started with a letter from home, pushed through the mail slot of my Swedish address with the usual flood of junk mail. Enclosed was a MacLean's magazine article featuring Norval Morrisseau, a Canadian Ojibwa artist and my nemesis of almost thirty years ago. An old friend had sent me the article, no doubt to stir up memories of experiences we had shared with Norval.

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Having been out of contact with my Canadian roots for many years, I assumed that Norval's destructive life style had sent him to The Happy Hunting Ground long since. I was grudgingly pleased to read that he was still alive.

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The MacLean's article recalled for me a hilarious yet often perilous association that began in the mid 1960s and continued for almost ten years.

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At that time, I was a consultant for the Ontario Department of Education, covering a territory that stretched from the American border in the south to Hudson's Bay in the north, and from about twenty miles west of the Lakehead (now Thunder Bay) to the Manitoba border more than 300 miles further west. About ten percent of the population of the area was Ojibwa and Cree Indian, most of them living in isolated communities north of the gold mining towns of Red Lake and Pickle Crow. Access was only by air. I was an experienced pilot certified to maintain my own aircraft.

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My first meeting with Norval occurred at a Chief and Councilor's training course sponsored by The Ontario Department of Education and the Federal Department of Indian Affairs. He was living on his wife Harriet's Sandy Lake Reserve, and the band elders selected him for the course.

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My branch of the Department was responsible for sports and art for both Indian and white communities. Thus I was destined to see a lot of Norval, whose artistic growth was obviously being restricted by the isolation of Sandy Lake. His hand-to-mouth existence and growing family responsibilities aggravated the restriction. However, it was the problem of obtaining art supplies that tipped the scales, along with Norval's wish to be in contact with other artists. And so he adopted an itinerant lifestyle, putting great stress on his family relations. However, it was a step towards his goal of becoming a famous artist, a goal he achieved at great personal cost.

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When in 1970 I convinced the Department to sponsor an "art circuit" to bring an appreciation of Indian art and culture to northern communities, I didn't realize what a task it would be. Had I known that I would eventually become Norval's and Carl Ray's pilot, keeper, marriage counselor and general fixer I would have fled the scene on winged heels. As it was, Norval and Carl changed my routine civil service life into a series of madcap adventures.

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I like to think that I influenced Norval's life by bringing him back, time and time again, to the path that led him to international recognition. He paid his debt to me by providing escape from a life that held security but little happiness.

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I left Canada in 1972 and lost track of Norval. Many years later, settled in Sweden, I regained possession of the three thick files I'd assembled, long ago, on my association with him. I had once entertained the thought of writing about this period in Norval's growth as an artist. As I scanned these files, the idea re-surfaced and I enlisted an email correspondent, Hazel Fulford, as co-Author. However, Norval's power of attorney refused permission to reproduce the artist's letters and paintings. We dropped the project for two years. Now we have decided to tell the story in our own way.

Robert Lavack

Prague, 2006

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The Morrisseau Papers, by Hazel Fulford, published by Perdida Press in Thunder Bay in 2007, is an inside story based on the papers Robert Lavack had from his days with Norval Morrisseau and the art circuit. It also contains Lavack's reminiscences of the time. The book provides key evidence about the early life and career of Norval Morrisseau.

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Copyright © Hazel Fulford 2007

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To order your copy e-mail: fulhouse3@shaw.ca

Recommended readings (Part III)

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Written in 1852 and first published in 1885, is perhaps the most important history of the Ojibway (Chippewa) ever written. Warren, the son of an Ojibway woman and a white man, collected firsthand descriptions and stories from his relatives, tribal leaders, and acquaintances. He transcribed this oral history in terms that nineteenth-century whites could under­stand, focusing on warfare, tribal organization, and political leaders. Interspersed among his vivid descriptions of memorable battles is a wealth of information on the Ojibway people's customs, family life, totemic system, hunting methods, fur trade, and relations with other tribal groups and with whites. W. Roger Buffalohead's new introduction to this edition describes the complexities that make this a fascinating study.
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"HISTORY OF THE OJIBWAY PEOPLE" by William W. Warren; Minnesota Historical Society Press, St. Paul 1984; ISBN: 0-87351-162-X; COVER: Ojibway camp with birch-bark wigwams and canoes, ca. 1870; photograph by Benjamin F. Upton; Minnesota Historical Society Collections.

Norval Morrisseau Prints V

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"LEGEND OF THE FISH PEOPLE AT THE GREAT FLOOD", 32"x41" (image size: 22"x34"), c. 1980 - Limited Edition Silkscreen (paper, 100% cotton), Edition of 49, © Norval Morrisseau
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The teaching about how a new Earth was created after the Great Flood is one of the classic Nanabush* Stories. It tells of how Nanabush managed to save himself by resting on a chi-mitig (huge log) that was floating on the vast expanse of water that covered Mother Earth.
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* - a trickster; Ojibway hold Nanabush as essential to any contact with the sacred.
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Note: Norval Morrisseau in most of his paintings calls Nanabush as Wasakajak (Wisakedjak; It is spelled also Weesack-kachack) which is the most common term for a trickster that Cree people use in their legend stories.

Honouring Norval Morrisseau (1932-2007) @ The National Gallery of Canada

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15 February - 8 June 2008
@ CONTEMPORARY GALLERY B206
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"Observations of the Astral World", 93"x202", © c. 1994 Norval Morrisseau
/Collection of the National Gallery of Canada/

In recognition of Norval Morrisseau’s great contributions to art in Canada, a selection of works from the National Gallery of Canada's collection recently returned from the tour of his solo exhibition will be installed alongside new acquisitions and an important loan from the Indian and Inuit Art Centre, Department of Indian and Nothern Affairs Canada. The legacy of Morrisseau's brilliant painting career continues on through his remarkable works.
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Source: The National Gallery of Canada