Peace Hills art contest turns 25
One controversy is worth a thousand pictures
Peace Hills art contest turns 25
By Terry Lusty
One of the truly successful and commendable financial institutions stories to ever come out of Alberta if not Canada is the development of Peace Hills Trust in 1980. And what a ride it has been! The firm presently boasts no fewer than eight branches stretching from British Columbia to New Brunswick. The company will consider new branches in other parts of Canada in its new growth plans.
A particular claim to fame on the part of Peace Hills is the fact it is wholly owned and operated by the Samson Cree First Nation at Hobbema. It has never had any outside partners and it happens to be the very first First Nation trust company in all of North America and is the largest. It has grown from loaning out $13 million in 1981 to $331 million by 2006. Over its lifetime, it has easily loaned out more than a billion dollars. Its equity has likewise leaped from $764,000 to over $46 million as of 2006.
25 years ago, Mel Benson was awarded first place for his piece “Cree Bow Maker”. Over the last quarter century, talented Aboriginal artists have been recognized from all areas of Canada.
“We are First Nation, proud to be First Nation and also professional bankers,” says Tony Shirt, Assistant Vice President Corporate Marketing & Business Development. “Our customers can expect to be welcomed and treated by knowledgeable, professional people,” he adds. The firm is very professional, accountable and operates with the utmost high standards and expectations from its staff.
One of the more highly visible extensions of the corporation has been its national Aboriginal art competition. This coming fall, the Peace Hills Annual Art Competition will celebrate a milestone. It will be the 25th anniversary of the contest that has witnessed the best and most diverse art pieces one could imagine. From its inception when the late Mel Benson won the competition with a piece entitled Cree Bow Maker, the competition has had some excellent entries including the winning works of such notables as Vernon Brown (Raising The Totem) from B.C., August Natannah (Dog Team/Trapper) and Roy Salopree (Go-Ne-Dene) from northern Alberta, Morris Cardinal (Buddies) from Fishing Lake, David B. Williams and Sean Couchie, a three-time winner, from Ontario, Henry Nanooch from northern Alberta, Gail Duiker from Edmonton, Keith Nolan, a two-time winner from Legal, Alberta, and others. Last year’s winning piece, The Indian Days Race, was by Laird Goulet from Rosetown, Saskatchewan. And certainly, whoever wins this fall will undoubtedly submit a stunning piece as well.
Just ask Suzanne Lyrintzis, the Corporate Marketing Administrator. She coordinates the art awards gala that will happen on Nov. 8. She is extremely pleased when she receives the entries and can’t help but state how impressed she is with the quality of the artists who she claims submit some phenomenal pieces of work.
Picking winners is never an easy matter. In the adult category alone they’ll generally get at least 200 entries from across Canada. There’s also the nine and under category, the 10 – 13 bracket and a 14 - 17 youth category. All winners and placers receive cash plus a certificate, while the adult winning piece is reformatted into a calendar for the approaching year, and second place is made into a desk calendar. Prize money in the adult division is an enticing $2,500 and $1,500 and $1,000 respectively.
The competition is meant to focus primarily on new and emerging artists explains Lyrintzis.
The award show has become a mecca for connoisseurs of Native art. People return time and time again once they’ve had a taste of the awards program. Most of the art pieces are for sale but not the winning pieces. This year’s awards will be conducted at the fabulous River Cree Resort and Casino on the Enoch Reserve, located at the southwest edge of Edmonton, AB.
One controversy is worth a thousand pictures
The Nickle Arts Museum pays tribute to legendary cartoonist
By Jennifer Myers
His satire is legendary. He was a master at seeing the heart of any political issue, social injustice or topical current event. Combined with his natural talent for wit, humour and artistry, Everett Soop employed his skills in cartooning to become one of Canada's most accomplished satirists and notable activists.
Joining Kainai News in 1969, a paper that would, for a time, become one of Canada's most successful Aboriginal newspapers, Everett Soop had a way of presenting the most controversial subjects of the day in the form of cartoons, which almost always stirred up conflicting emotions of either anger or laughter in his readers.
“The depictions of Natives in mainstream media at the time were created by non-Natives and were often hostile to Aboriginal culture,” says Dr. Heather Devine, professor in the Faculty of Communication and Culture and co-curator of the Everett Soop Exhibition at The Nickle Arts Museum. “Kainai News was an outlet for Native people to interpret their own reality and report on what they considered to be the truth, which they were not getting elsewhere.”
When Soop began drawing cartoons for Kainai News, the Canadian government had released the memorable White Paper, a document proposing major changes to the Indian Act, which would have seen reserves abolished and the Indian Act dismantled, but with no provision for continued protection of Aboriginal lands or delivery of programs and services promised to Native people under treaty. Soop was inspired by the national debate and motivated by the lack of Aboriginal perspectives on the issues.
“It was Native newspapers like the Kainai News, and organizations like the Indian Association of Alberta and the National Indian Brotherhood (now known as the Assembly of First Nations) who led the charge against the White Paper,” says Devine.
Soop’s success was measured by the public debate he aroused on these issues. He was a great observer of the world around him and it was his calling to comment in a way that inspired contentious debate. Soop quickly became notorious for his satirical cartoons, which he used to make bold social and political statements. His depictions of the issues and the people involved inspired controversy and even threats against his life.
“He didn’t play favourites in who he directed his criticism toward – Native and non-Native leaders alike – he made no distinctions,” says Louis Soop, older brother to Everett. “He had a brilliant mind and made Native communities aware of the misfortunes of abuse, discrimination and problems like unemployment and poor housing. Some people even came to enjoy him because they were being told off by the famous Aboriginal cartoonist.”
Everett Soop’s work will be honoured in an exhibit at The Nickle Arts Museum running July 7 - September 29. Visit www.ucalgary.ca/~nickle for more information.