James Henderson created his impressive body of landscape and portrait paintings at a time when Indigenous culture, ceremonies, language, and ties to the land were under great strain from oppressive government policies. When Henderson came to kâ-têpwêwi-sipiy (the Calling River, known to settlers as the Qu’Appelle River and as the Qu’Appelle Valley) in 1916 there were many Indigenous people who still held the ancient echoes of the kêhtê-ayak (Old Ones) and who persisted in their ceremonialism and language. In my work as co-curator, I wanted to find the stories of these people who fascinated James Henderson, not only in kâ-têpwêwi-sipiy but also in the territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy. Through the exploration of the narrative memories of Indigenous people, I wanted these people to be understood as embodied historical beings, and not simply as romanticized icons from the past.
Together with a team of researchers, we gathered the narratives of the kêhtê-ayak from various Indigenous nations. Henderson’s portrait paintings became entry points for exploration, and gave us the opportunity to rethread the past through the words of our storytellers. We hope that the stories of the people who James Henderson painted will animate the exhibition with rich details that have been held for generations. Just as his paintings helped create empathy among Canadians of his era, we hope that Henderson’s artwork, layered with the narratives we have collected, will create an awareness of the strength of Indigenous leaders from the past, and that our young people will draw upon this strength to fashion a vibrant future.
Henderson’s artwork provides us with an opportunity to reflect upon the history of Indigenous people and the history of the land, specifically kâ-têpwêwi-sipiy.The classical narrative of mistasiniy (the story of Grandfather Buffalo) and paskwa-mostos awâsis (Buffalo Boy), shared with us by Wes Fineday, marks kâ-têpwêwi-sipiy in Indigenous memory. The story of mistasiniy also threads people to the land through kinship ties and allows us to examine the paintings through an Indigenous lens.
Without the help of the following people, we would not have been able to present the Indigenous oral history in the way that we did: Linda Many Guns, Susan McArthur, Ken Goodwill, Noel Starblanket, Wes Fineday, Max Fineday, Beverly Hungry Wolf, Cecil Crowfoot, Charlie Bigknife, Larry Oakes, Mike Pinay, Hugh Dempsey, Pauline Dempsey, Sherry Farrell-Racette, Glen Gordon, Delbert Pasqua, Agnes Cyr, Clayton Cyr, the kêhtê-ayak from Pasqua First Nation, Stan Cuthand, Connie Grey-Bellegarde, Tanya Harnett, the late Beatrice Lavallee, Natasha Beeds, Wavell Starr, Sandy McArthur, Ken Stowell, Donald McArthur, Hazel McArthur, Horace Bull Bear, Cory Generoux, David Miller, Merelda Fiddler, Alison Brown, Preston LeCaine, Thomas Roussin, Adrian Stimson, Sheila Stevenson, and Annette Cyr. I apologize in advance to anyone I may have omitted inadvertently.
—Neal McLeod, Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies, Trent University
