Manitoba’s Métis History

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Louis Riel (centre) and his provisional government. (Courtesy the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections

Group of Eight Red River Settlement Carte de Visites Collection, A2013- 005)

Continuance, call and response, continuum. These words echo in my head as I venture through the Winnipeg Art Gallery exhibition, Kwaata-nihtaawakihk – A Hard Birth, signalling to an unravelling of time. Past, present and future seem all-encompassing, as though the gallery space has transcended time as we know it. 

Most importantly, guest curators Sherry Farrell Racette and Cathy Mattes demonstrate the significance of Métis contributions to the founding of Manitoba, which oftentimes do not receive the recognition they deserve. They also introduce a perspective rarely included when discussing pinnacle moments in Métis history – a reverence for Métis women, girls and queer folks. 

Contemporary works by 15 artists sit in relation to ancestral objects, such as beaded moccasins, historical garments and woven ceintures fléchées, demonstrating the curators’ affiliation and care for what is often dismissed as a gendered craft practice peripheral to contemporary visual culture. 

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Rosalie Favell, “I awoke to find my spirit had returned,” from the series “Plain(s) Warrior Artist,” 1999

giclée print on paper, 47” x 34” (collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery; photo by Ernest Mayer, courtesy of WAG)

Additionally, the formation of the space emits a feeling of familiarity and ease – it’s a cohesive narrative, bound by the profound ancestral wisdom the curators carry. They ensure the exhibition, which continues until Sept. 3, points to futurity and is grounded in memory and kinship ties, all amalgamated at one moment in time.

At the exhibition’s entrance, a massive beaded frame by prominent Métis artist Jennine Krauchi is mounted around a greyscale photo of Métis leader Louis Riel and his provisional government. Riel, and his participation in the Red River Rebellion of 1869 to 1870, spurred negotiations for Manitoba to enter the Canadian Confederacy in 1870. This work pays tribute to Métis sovereignty at a milestone in Manitoba’s history. 

The frame, 1.5 metres high and two metres wide, was commissioned specifically for this exhibition. The magnificently crafted beadwork features traditional Métis colours while displaying Krauchi’s skill with intricate florals and survey chains. When folded, the frame turns into a moss bag (also known as a cradleboard), a traditional Indigenous technology that allows infants to be carried securely in a tightly wrapped cloth, often adorned with beadwork and embroidery, on a parent’s back. This is a nod to Métis women’s precarious labour and their contributions to governance systems, which have often gone unheralded. The piece itself invokes an air of timelessness, acknowledging that Métis presence is not stuck in a static history, but is infinite in its ancestral fortitude.

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H.A. Strong, “Interior of Fort Garry,” 1884

colour lithograph on paper, 22”x 34” (collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery; photo by Ernest Mayer, courtesy of WAG)

Further along is Witnesser (2022), a collaborative work by Cree/Saulteaux/Métis artist Lori Blondeau and British-born artist Theo Sims. This piece emerged from their dialogue about personal definitions of reconciliation. Sims’ practice often includes acts of instigation and, remarkably, he was able to borrow the Canadian Senate’s original woolsack – a large red stuffed cushion used historically during deliberations of colonial interventions. In the gallery, the couch is ringed by Grandfather Rocks, who have existed on these lands from time immemorial and have witnessed the onslaught of colonial violence. Blondeau, working in collaboration with these Grandfather Rocks, plans to activate the space at some point with a performance.

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Sheri Osden Nault, “No Vacant Wild (Lake Ontario),” 2019

digital photo reproduction on vinyl, 4’ x 6’ (temporal and site-specific installation, 2018-ongoing, collection of the artist)

Artist Katherine Boyer, an experienced Métis beader, displays an elaborate woven yarn installation, Rug (2016). Resembling an unfinished area mat, its circular shape spills out in unfinished strands that extend toward visitors. In contrast to its egg-shell white tones, a winding pathway of blue hues cuts through the centre, representing her family's relationship to waterways and the land – it refers to perpetual dislocation and rebuilding due to the construction of a dam near Souris in southwestern Manitoba. A shack rests near the river, a small symbol of memory that establishes her complex ties to land in many places.

Nearby, Survey Chain for Stepping On (2022), a commissioned work by Métis artist Ian August, reveals an interactive survey chain like the one Riel stepped on during Manitoba’s entry into Confederation. Riel did this to defy colonial surveying practices aimed at forcing Indigenous Peoples off their homelands and transferring ownership to settlers for farming. Visitors are invited to repeat this gesture. The participatory nature of this piece physically places visitors in a Métis perspective while engaging with an embodied act of resistance that transcends time and pushes for an empowered future.

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Amanda Strong, “Four Faces of the Moon,” 2016, stop-motion animated film (courtesy the artist)

Michif artist Amanda Strong’s stop-motion animated film, Four Faces of the Moon (2016), along with two dioramas used in the film, demonstrates the artist’s meticulous and multifaceted talents. Accompanied by a haunting score, the film recalls youthful stories from her grandmother, Olivine Bousquest. 

The exhibition closes with an embellished beaded piano cover that was owned by the MacClean family, of Fort Qu’Appelle, Sask. Gallery staff built a mock piano so the piece could be displayed as it is intended to be seen. Highlighting the beader’s extensive skills, the elaborate floral work is constructed with beads of varying sizes from a vast colour palette.

In some ways, this piano cover and the beaded picture frame at the exhibition’s entrance act as bookends, summing up the narrative of a beautifully curated space that speaks of family ties, placehood and unique experiences that surpass temporality. The exhibition visually demonstrates the continuance of Métis cultural sovereignty, accompanied by ancestral memory. It is neither past nor future, but a continuum. ■

Kwaata-nihtaawakihk – A Hard Birth at the Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq from March 19 to Sept. 3, 2022.

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