Adrian Stimson

Bison at the heart of show that reflects on prairie history.

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The Blackfoot word for newborn bison, Maanipokaa’iini, seems an apt title for Adrian Stimson’s first survey exhibition, at the Remai Modern in Saskatoon until Sept. 5. Images of bison recur frequently as Stimson probes the history and impact of colonialism on the Prairies in a sampling of paintings, photographs, videos, installations and performances from the last two decades.

The Blackfoot people have always felt a profound connection with bison, says Stimson, a member of the Siksika Nation, an hour’s drive east of Calgary. Not only did the animals provide food, clothing, shelter and tools, but they remain, to this day, at the heart of Blackfoot spirituality and culture. 

This reality is illustrated by a massive sculptural figure swathed in bison robes, The Shaman Exterminator, which stands near the show’s entrance. The figure’s back is turned toward visitors, an ambivalent posture repeated in nearby photographs. But as you turn to face the work from within the show, its confrontational aspects are clear. Sharp black horns protrude from its head and a video shows Stimson’s eyes glaring out from beneath a bison-hide hood. 

A curatorial text on the wall proposes that The Shaman Exterminator is a trickster who playfully subverts New Age appropriations of Indigenous spirituality. The figure, however, seems solemn, even reticent. This gravitas will not surprise those familiar with Stimson’s work. He is known not only for his use of humour and irony, but also his willingness to confront dark aspects of prairie history.

Two installations in the show draw parallels between the fate of the bison and that of Indigenous peoples. Beyond Redemption features a taxidermal bison surrounded by 10 bison robes draped over black crosses. The work memorializes the estimated 30 million animals slaughtered by settlers as part of a colonial campaign aimed at starving Indigenous people to gain control of their territories and open the West for settlement. 

With Sick and Tired, meanwhile, three windows frame a rusty infirmary bed salvaged from the Old Sun Residential School, near Stimson’s home. The windows glow with a warm light, but the view is blocked by white feathers. Stimson says he imagined a child looking out the windows, longing for home, when he created the work, which is based on stories from his father, who was forced to attend Old Sun. A child-sized figure, completely shrouded by a bison robe, lies on the bed. The installation is a powerful reminder of the thousands of Indigenous children who died in deplorable conditions at Canada’s residential schools.

While works like these underscore the brutality of the colonial project, others reframe the past. Stimson subverts history with the help of one of his alter egos, Buffalo Boy (she/her). Donning fishnet stockings and a bison-hide corset, Buffalo Boy “trades on the theatrics of the Wild West show to turn frontier nostalgia on its head,” curator Tarah Hogue notes in the exhibition text. 

In a series titled Gambling the Prairie Winnings, Stimson pairs archival photographs from the Glenbow Museum with staged images and text. In one pairing, the historical photograph depicts a handful of RCMP officers at a Blackfoot Sun Dance in 1921. Laughing, they sit at a table outdoors, served by two Blackfoot women. A bottle of gin is conspicuous in the foreground. Everyone looks uncomfortable and out of place – the tension is palpable. In the partner image, Buffalo Boy lounges in a grassy field, perfectly at ease, with a martini glass raised and whip at the ready. A Mountie stands nearby, liquor bottle at the ready, poised to refill her glass. The power dynamics have been flipped: the queer Indigenous protagonist now defines the terms of engagement. 

While Stimson disrupts the colonial narratives in this archival material and simultaneously suggests new possibilities for the future, he insists the past cannot be elided. We cannot arrive at Buffalo Boy’s puckish resistance without first acknowledging what happened at Old Sun. To look to the future without confronting the past negates the spirit of Buffalo Boy entirely. His message is clear: Our colonial legacy must be examined and evaluated ­– by settlers and Indigenous people alike – for any hope of transformation. 

Adrian Stimson, Maanipokaa’iini, at Remai Modern in Saskatoon from April 2 to Sept. 5, 2022. 

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