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Follow These Indigenous Visual Artists

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Allen Sapp was a Cree painter from Red Pheasant Cree Nation who resided in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. His art and his story have become well known throughout Canada.

Daphne Odjig was a Canadian First Nations artist of Odawa-Potawatomi-English heritage. Her painting is often characterized as Woodlands Style. She was the driving force behind the Professional Native Indian Artists Association, colloquially known as the Indian Group of Seven.

Alex Simeon Janvier is a pioneer of contemporary Canadian Aboriginal art in Canada and a member of the Indigenous Group of Seven. He was born in Cold Lake First Nation and is of Dene and Saultaux descent.

Jerry Whitehead is a Cree artist from Peter Chapman First Nation. Powwow and powwow dancers have remained an important theme and inspiration for his work.

Christi Belcourt is a Métis visual artist and author best known for her acrylic paintings which depict floral patterns inspired by Métis and First Nations historical beadwork art. Belcourt’s work often focuses on questions around identity, culture, place and divisions within communities.

Understand Indigenous Historical Leaders of the Past

Understand Indigenous Historical Leaders of the Past

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Harold Cardinal was elected chief of the Sucker Creek band in 1982-83 and was appointed vice-chief for the prairie region of the National Indian Brotherhood. Cardinal published the ‘Red Paper’ (titled Citizens Plus) that argued strongly against the assimilatory goals of the federal government’s White Paper (the Statement of the Government of Canada on Indian Policy).

Harry Daniels was one of the founding members of the Saskatchewan Métis Society. He is most widely known as the man who negotiated the expressed inclusion of “Métis People” in the Canadian Constitution, thereby enshrining Métis rights in the constitution.

Walter Dieter was a Cree person of the Peepeekisis Indian Band in Saskatchewan. He was one of the founders of the National Indian Brotherhood and served as the first National Chief from 1968 to 1970.

Gabriel Dumont rose to political prominence in an age of declining buffalo herds and was concerned about the ongoing economic prosperity and political independence of his people. He is best known for his role in the 1885 North-West Resistance as a key Métis military commander and an ally of Louis Riel.

James Gladstone was Canada’s first Indigenous senator. He was president of the Indian Association of Alta (IAA) and three times was a delegate to Ottawa to discuss proposed changes in the Indian Act. He played a prominent part in the fight for better education, greater respect for treaty rights, and participation of Aboriginals in their own administration.

Elijah Harper was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in Manitoba in 1981, in 1986 he was appointed to cabinet as Minister Without Portfolio Responsible for Native Affairs, and in 1987 was appointed as Minister of Northern Affairs. In 1990, while sitting as an opposition member in the Manitoba Legislature, he blocked the Canadian constitutional amendment known as the Meech Lake Accord due to a lack of participation of Indigenous peoples in the process.

Louis Riel led the Métis in two resistances during 1869-70 in Red River and in 1885 in the Saskatchewan District of the North-West Territories. He was instrumental in the creation of Manitoba as a province and is a centrally important figure in Métis history.

John Tootoosis was an influential First Nations leader in Saskatchewan. He was appointed chief of Poundmaker at the age of 20, and in 1959 he was elected as the first President of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indians.

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