Centre to feature Metis work

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An art exhibition at Harcourt House in Edmonton in November 2006 will feature Metis artist David Garneau, so the artist wants other Metis to exhibit along side him.

Garneau's exhibit is titled Cowboys and Indians (and Metis?), and it questions how Metis are to be considered in traditional cowboys and Indians or settler-Indian situations. The exhibit has shown across Canada from Quebec to Western Canada.

Heather Murray of Harcourt House said Garneau requested the centre find local Metis artists to feature, so they are putting out a call for submissions. The deadline is Nov. 30, 2005, after which time Harcourt House will jury the submissions to choose whose works will be shown. The opportunity is being offered to help promote emerging artists.

Garneau is originally from Edmonton, but now lives in Regina and is an associate professor at the University of Regina in the faculty of fine arts.

Garneau's exhibit explores Metis culture. Many of Garneau's pieces are painted in a comic book style.

Garneau said he grew up in an assimilated cultural situation and it was only when he moved to Saskatchewan that he started to explore his Metis heritage.

"What is it to be Metis? There is a lot of soul searching going on right now, and among Aboriginal people generally, where are you going to fit in, are you going to assimilate or not. But with Metis it is more apparent," he said.

Garneau decided to "jump off the fence" and declare himself Metis.

"Since then I have been doing a lot of searching, not just genealogical stuff but more what is the Metis role in society. Is it all caught up in 1885 and Riel and Dumont or is it something more contemporary," he said.

"Part of my job (as an arts professor) is to find out what in the community what does it mean to be Metis and what are the visual representations."

Garneau said he considered many symbols, such as the Red River cart and the infinity symbol, as representations of Metis culture, but the symbol he decided to use for his work was the noose.

"It is the noose because of Riel, of course, and other people, but also because of my great-great-grandfather, because he was about to be hung, (and that was a threat) hanging around Metis people so that is why they were quiet."

Louis Riel was the former leader of the Metis and was hanged by the government for crimes of high treason.

Garneau said he gets both positive and negative reaction to his use of the noose as a symbol in his work.

"Different people don't like me using that image, and sometimes they say 'Yeah, that's true, that's something that has kept people quiet, that sort of historical memory.' It goes pretty far back."

Garneau said Metis culture has strong themes, such as poverty and identity, and he is interested in work that explores that as well.

"If there are other Metis or Aboriginal people interested in the same thing coming out of their community, I would be very interested in that."