Paris/Ojibwa

Paris/Ojibwa by Robert Houle – photographed at the Art Gallery of Ontario

During this time when the world has been dealing with a deadly virus, I have been reminded of an art installation I saw at the Art Gallery of Ontario in the summer of 2017 that illustrated the impact of a deadly virus on a group of Indigenous dancers.

Created in 2010 by the renowned Indigenous artist Robert Houle who is originally from Winnipeg, the work titled Paris/Ojibwa is a moving memorial to Ojibwa dancers who died while entertaining the French Court in 1845.

The story starts with American artist George Catlin who travelled extensively in the west painting hundreds of portraits of Indigenous people.  He decided to bring his ‘Indian Gallery’ to Europe and display it there. He thought he might attract more viewers for his exhibit if he brought along an Indigenous dance troupe organized by George Henry Maungwudaus an Ojibwa interpreter.

George Henry Maungwudaus the leader of the Indigenous dance troupe that went to Paris. His wife and three of his children were among those who died on the trip to Europe.

The troupe performed in London and at the royal court in Paris where King Louis Philipe presented the dancers with medals.  Unfortunately, six of the troupe caught smallpox in Europe. They died never to return to Canada

Robert Houle, Paris/Ojibwa (detail) image from an essay by Shirley Madill for the Art Canada Institute

Robert Houle has included the names of some of the dancers at the very top of the installation. He has shown the dancers as a Shaman, Warrior, Dancer and Healer respectively and they are seen looking out at the horizon of their home in Canada. Each horizon has a specific physical reference. They are views of the prairie from the Sandy Bay First Nations cemetery near Lake Manitoba. Artist Robert Houle is a member of the Sandy Bay First Nation.

Robert Houle, Paris/Ojibwa (detail) image from an essay by Shirley Madill for the Art Canada Institute

Underneath each portrait is an image of the smallpox virus that killed them.

Robert Houle has created the portraits on the walls of a reconstructed Parisian salon with a marble floor. There is a bowl of sage on a pedestal at the front of the salon and I could hear soft drum beats as I viewed the installation. 

According to an April CBC article, Indigenous people make up 10% of Manitoba’s population but account for 70% of COVID-19 infections. It also states that American First Nations people are dying of COVID-19 at twice the rate of the white population.

Robert Houle’s artwork reminds us how the effects of colonization have impacted the health of Indigenous Canadians for nearly two centuries.

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Ojibwa in Paris

This unique installation at the Art Gallery of Ontario called Paris/Ojibwa is by artist Robert Houle. It is a moving memorial  for Ojibwa dancers who died while entertaining the French court in 1845.  The story starts with American artist George Catlin who traveled extensively in the west painting hundreds of portraits of indigenous people.  He decided to bring his ‘Indian Gallery’ to Europe and display it there. He thought he might attract more viewers for his exhibit if he brought along an indigenous dance troupe organized by George Henry Maungwudaus an Ojibwa interpreter. The troupe performed in London and at the royal court in Paris where King Louis Philipe presented the dancers with medals.  Unfortunately six of the troupe caught small pox in Europe. They died never to return to Canada. 

Robert Houle has painted four of these ill-fated dancers, Maungwudaus’ wife Uh wis sig gee zig goo kway and three of her children and shows them on a return journey to Canada, a trip that because of their untimely deaths, they were never able to make themselves.  Above the portraits are the names of the dancers and underneath each portrait is an illustration of the small pox virus that killed them. Robert Houle paints the portraits on the walls of a reconstructed Parisian salon. There is a bowl of sage on a pedestal at the front of the salon and you hear quiet drum beats as you view the installation. 

Parfleches for the Last Supper 1983 by Robert Houle at the Winnipeg Art Gallery

I was drawn to Paris/Ojibwa because of its creator Robert Houle.  We have an installation of his called Parfleches for the Last Supper on view at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. Many years ago I interviewed Mr. Houle for a Free Press column of mine.  It was interesting to see a more current work of his, especially one that tells such a moving and tragic story. 

This post has been updated here. 

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Treaty One by Robert Houle 

” The interpretation of an abstract painting is open to discussion and dispute just as the interpretation of the government’s treaties with First Nations has been discussed and disputed.”   Jaimie Isaac, the curator of a new exhibit at the Winnipeg Art Gallery is explaining why Robert Houle’s work Treaty One includes an abstract painting in the style of Mark Rothko.  Treaty One is the centrepiece of the exhibit called We Are On Treaty Land.  Both the name of the artwork and the name of the exhibit take on added meaning because the Winnipeg Art Gallery is located on Treaty One land and the artists showcased in the exhibit are all connected in some way to Treaty One land. Treaty One, negotiated in 1871 is the first treaty First Nations signed with the Canadian government. 

In Treaty One Robert Houle who was born in St. Boniface and lived in Sandy Bay juxtapositions an abstract painting with text from the actual treaty that is partially obscured by an old photograph of First Nations people. This creates a kind of tension since the promises and responsibilities of the treaty remain obscure to many First Nations people as well as other Canadian citizens.

The abstract painting and the obscured text is meant to frustrate viewers just the way the unfulfilled promises of the treaties have frustrated First Nations people. 

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Parfleches For the Last Supper

I interviewed artist Robert Houle when I worked as a columnist for the Winnipeg Free Press.

“Look after this gift which has been given to you”.

Robert Houle’s mother offered her son that advice when she realized he was serious about painting. Houle is an Ojibway artist whose work can be found in many major museums and galleries in Canada. His Parfleches for the Last Supper are part of the Winnipeg Art Gallery collection.       

Photo from the Art Canada Institute book about Robert Houle by Shirley Mandill.

 A parfleche is a decorated rawhide pouch which was used by people of Plains cultures to carry personal and sacred objects. “A seer or sage came to our family home on the Sandy Bay Reservation for each of my eight younger sisters’ naming ceremonies,” said Houle, speaking to me from Toronto. “I was fascinated when they opened their parfleches and took out the bear claws and rattles they kept inside.” His mother always prepared a special supper for the occasion. The memory of those celebrations gave him the idea for Parfleches for the Last Supper.

“I imagined the twelve disciples coming to that final meal with Jesus, each carrying a parfleche and opening it for the others to see. Those men were all seers too.”

Houle has created and painted a handmade paper parfleche for each disciple. He chose the colours carefully.

Judas, who betrayed Jesus, has a black parfleche.

John, the purest disciple, has a white one. “I studied the Bible to learn about the Last Supper participants”, says Houle. “I selected a passage from the gospels to accompany every parfleche. I tried to pick verses that gave insight into that particular follower of Christ.”

Researching the disciples’ lives was a new experience for the artist. “In the Catholic churches and schools, I attended we were not allowed to study the Bible ourselves, for fear we might misinterpret it.”

Although Robert credits the nuns who were his teachers for recognizing his artistic gifts, he has some unpleasant memories of his early educational experiences. “ I wasn’t allowed to paint things from my own culture, only what was dictated to me. My family always went to the Sun Dance to celebrate the summer solstice, so I was forced to go to confession and repent for worshipping false gods.”

He is happy to see progress towards integrating First Nations symbols in worship. “ On Manitoulin Island, they’ve used sweet grass for incense during a service.” Houle knows native artists who have been commissioned to paint the Stations of the Cross for churches.                    

Initially, Robert’s parents weren’t excited about his interest in art. “They thought it was something rich, white kids did”, he recalls. They were proud however when their son earned degrees in Art History from the University of Manitoba and Art Education from McGill. “Education was very important to Mom and Dad. I attended Assiniboia High School in Winnipeg. I’d go home to Sandy Bay every weekend. It was hard returning to the city on Sunday night, but my parents insisted. All their children finished high school and many of us have university degrees.”   

Houle says Parfleches for the Last Supper was a major turning point in his career. “I took a chance mixing two diametrically opposed ideologies for the first time.” The combination of Christianity and aboriginal culture is clearly evident in his work. For example, the parfleches for Jesus’ disciples are fastened shut with porcupine quills.

Bartholomew’s pouch is decorated with lines patterned after the kinds of ribbons worn for traditional First Nations ceremonies.      

Robert Houle is happy Parfleches for the Last Supper is part of the permanent collection at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. The pieces were purchased by Mr. Carl T. Grant, with the intent of placing them in the bus depot on Portage Avenue, since many First Nations People pass through the building. However displaying and preserving the paintings there proved difficult, so they were given to the Winnipeg Art Gallery instead.

Robert had just returned to Toronto after being in Manitoba for his mother’s funeral, when he received an invitation to attend the official installation of his work. He flew back to Winnipeg and was deeply moved to discover that the donation of Parfleches for the Last Supper had been made in his mother’s memory. Robert recalls the event. “There was my family marking a happy moment in my career in black clothes. We couldn’t even drink the champagne because we were still in mourning.”  

Parfleches for the Last Supper is a fitting tribute to a mother who encouraged her son to get an education and use his gifts well. It is a thought-provoking work that raises many questions for people of faith who seek to more fully understand the relationship between culture and religious belief.

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