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Allen Sapp
Native Artist
Allen Sapp was born on a cold January night in 1928. His mother had knelt on the dirt floor of her own mother's cabin on the Red Pheasant Reserve in Saskatchewan. Maggie Soonias, the now famous grandmother of many Sapp paintings delivered her grandchild. It was the beginning of a caring and profoundly influential relationship between her and the boy.
At the time Allen was born, his grandfather, Albert Soonias, was a relatively prosperous Cree elder who ran 100 head of cattle, seeded hay and raised wheat. There was plenty of work available for his son-in-law, Alex, so Allen Sapp's childhood was spent close to his grandparents.
This was an era when tuberculosis was rampant and Allen's mother spent years in sanitoriums.
Allen himself was sickly and the care that his Nokum (grandmother) lavished on him is memorialized in the artist's paintings. There was a period of time during his eighth year that he was particularly ill. The nootakao (medicine woman) decreed that in order to continue with life his being had to be given purpose. In a nutshell it meant that the manitous required that he fulfill his purpose for being in the world. He had an English name. He had not been ceremoniously named according to the old traditions. Without a name (read purpose) it's difficult for a soul to find reason to remain in a body. In a dream the nootakao had been told that this child should be called Kiskayetum (he-perceives-it). The name was bestowed, sweetgrass ceremoniously burned and a pipe solemnly passed from one to another. Life continued.
Allen had always been a very shy child, not comfortable with the rough and tumble life of other kids. His school attendance was sporadic. He never learned to read or write but drawing was a passion. Using whatever was at hand...bits of charcoal, stubs of pencils, wood, bark, leather or scraps of paper...Kiskayetum illustrated life around him.
In 1942, after the death of his mother, Allen Sapp married Maggie Paskimin of the Sweetgrass reserve. They stayed on at Red Pheasant to care for his grandparents, who because of age had had to sell their cattle and go on relief. But Allen continued to draw and paint and had a fervent vision of himself as an artist in the whiteman's world.
But it wasn't until 1961, following the death of the elders that he and his wife moved to North Battleford.
Allen Sapp had no idea how to be a successful artist. He painted images that he thought white people would like and did his best to sell them door to door. By chance he met up with Dr.Allan Gonor who encouraged him to paint what he knew best...life on the Red Pheasant Reserve.
Dr. Gonor made a point of learning the business of art. He mentored Allen. With help from friends he eventually arranged for a one man show at the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon. It was a huge success!
After the Mendel exhibition Allen began painting so prolifically that Dr. Gonor arranged with businessman William Baker to represent Allen Sapp to galleries and to handle all his business matters. Between April 1969 and 1970 Allen had six successful exhibitions...not only in Canada but in England and in California.
Allen's art is a window to life on the reserve as it was when he was growing up in the 1930's and 40's. Many of these scenes have disappeared from current reserve life. Allen's paintings depict the struggle for survival by a proud people in a harsh environment.
Recent Exhibitions
- 1998 At the Frontier's Edge The Prairie Art Gallery, Grande Prairie, AB
- 1997 Claiming Ourselves Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, SK
- 1996-97 Kiskayetum, Allen Sapp: A Retrospective Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull QC
