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Woodlands School
The Socio-Political Influence of the Woodlands School
The Woodlands School of art came into being following the successful launch of Norval Morrisseau's career in Toronto in 1962 and the success of Daphne Odjig, Jackson Beardy and Alex Janvier's show, Treaty Numbers 22, 187, 1171 a decade later in Winnipeg.
But to understand the influence of contemporary Woodland Art, it's worthwhile noting that long before Europeans arrived on the shores of North America, First Nations people, for one reason or another, faced cultural catastrophes and interestingly, it was sometimes artistic activity that rode to the rescue!
For example, anthropologists tell us that there have been three major bursts of artistic commotion within the prehistoric Eastern Woodlands culture. The first took place around 1000 BC, the second between 300BC and AD300, and the third from AD1000 to AD1400. And just so you can add the information to your ever expanding fund of knowledge, the artistic and cultural labels put to these periods are, respectively, Adena, Hopewell and the Southern Ceremonial Complex. If you dug, (literally) into the pre-history of these groups you'd discover that the artistic and ritual bustle that took place was in response to cultural crisis - not just setbacks, but all-out calamity.
Influence of Woodland Art in Prehistoric Times
Anthropologists have recognized that the increased artistic activity at those times has been part of the 'revitalization' of culture under extreme social and economic stress.
In prehistoric times the crisis may have been triggered by changes in climate, or perhaps disease or perhaps a challenge from a neighbouring community. But whatever it was it resulted in severe challenges to the traditional means of livelihood. In contemporary times the stress has come from legislated restrictions and acculturalization that wiped out not only traditional means of livelihood but also the entire structure that the society had been built upon.
According to A.J. Wallace's definition of revitalization and A. Trevelyan's analysis of archaeological data from pre-contact eastern North America, in prehistoric times cultural revitalization in response to crises was always initiated by individuals and those leaders developed a circle of disciples who spread the good word, so to speak. The leader's family and friends participated in the dissemination of ideas associated with the revitalization movement.
Influence of the Woodlands School of Art in the Twentieth Century
Norval Morrisseau is the modern leader who rode to the rescue of the Ojibwa culture in Canada. He came to understand that the only way his "Great Ojibwa" culture could survive was to bring the spiritual symbolism out of hiding and present it to the young Anishnabe (that's Ojibwa to you) in a way that they could hear...directly through pictures and stories. The breakdown of the traditional culture meant that the parents had no way of passing on the traditions. Children were taken to residential schools and brainwashed by the dominant culture. The residential school system took children away from their parents for years at a time and broke the normal bond of love, acceptance and respect that children from any culture have for their parents. The children learned "to learn" from the written word. They didn't have the opportunities to learn from the oral traditions of their elders.
One of the factors at play during the acculturalization process was the fact that dodem, the system of governance in place (before Indian agents and then Band Councils were imposed upon First Nations people), compartmentalized certain tasks. The fundamental concepts that supported the entire spiritual reality of the Anishnabe were controlled by elders, who, following the rules of their trade, were bound by strictures that forbade the public dissemination of their most sacred beliefs except within the circle of clans that controlled the entire society.
Morrisseau realized that without publicizing the stories (Christians refer to their version as 'the good word') youth would have no contact with the remnants of Ojibwa culture that remained.
After Morrisseau broke the taboo of publicizing the religious foundations of the Ojibwa culture, other First Nations' artists stepped up to the plate and made their own contributions. The Indian Professional Artists' Association was one example and another was the personal mentoring some of the new centurions offered yound Ojibwa men and women. The Woodlands School of Art was born.
The Woodlands School of Art Bridges Cultures
In prehistoric cultural revitalization, a process of reconciliation was also important to the long term stability of the new ideas. That is, the message inherent in the art was that there had to be a way to reconcile the old ways with the new realities. And because friction between neighbouring populations can be indicative of bigger problems that might affect entires regions, an important aspect of revitalization and the associated art activities involved formal and symbolic accommodation to make the message palatable (and understandable) to all...even traditional enemies.
The present day example is that the new Woodlands School combines traditional legends and myths with the reality that today, First Nations' culture exists within a mainstream milieu and artists include/use those parts of the Euro-American culture that enable their story to be heard. Web sites for example:)
Trevelyan points out, that in ancient times art was used "to bridge, reconcile, re-educate and re-orient fellow native groups, however hostile. Today the challenge is to bridge the gap between entirely different cultures - First Nations people and Euro-Americas."
Native art began to be an influencing force in Canada
Norval Morriseau mentored his young cousins, other members of the Indian Group of Seven contributed by teaching on Manitoulin and the concept of a Woodlands School of Art Canada began to creep into the consciousness of the Nation.
