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Contemporary Indigenous

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A MANIFEST FOR THE MOON

The Lunar Codex uses digital and analog technology to preserve art, books, music, and more, enclosed in time capsules and launched to the Moon. It is a message-in-a-bottle to the future.

Curatorial Notes

This section documents monographs, portfolios, exhibit catalogues, historical compendiums, and other collections, as well as selected individual examples of contemporary art by Indigenous peoples.

Other individual Indigenous contributions in visual art are documented in the various Gallery sections of the Lunar Codex.

Further cultural contributions in writing and music can be found in the other sections.

* Every artist, writer, and contributor with art or articles included in the works shown below are verified as represented in the Codex

Manifest

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THE INDIGENOUS ART COLLECTION: SELECTED WORKS 1967-2017
LA COLLECTION D'ART AUTOCHTONE: OEUVRES CHOISIS 1967-2017

Government of Canada ▪ Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada (2018) - GM1


- The Indigenous Art Collection, cared for by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC), and located at 10 Wellington, Gatineau, Quebec, is one of the most important collections of contemporary Indigenous art in Canada. Comprising over 4,300 artworks by both prominent and emerging artists, it showcases First Nations, Inuit, and Métis expressions of their histories, cultures, and realities, both past and present. 

- Created to celebrate the Art Centre’s 50th anniversary, this stunning volume and first major monograph published by the Government of Canada about the collection, highlights the richness and the importance of Indigenous cultures and heritage as an essential part of Canadian culture.

- The book project was chaired by Lee-Ann Martin, and included jury members Simon Brascoupé, David M. General, Viviane Gray, Dr. Heather Igloliorte, Gerald McMaster, Sherry Farrell Racette, Arthur Renwick, Ryan Rice and Dr. Carmen Robertson. These individuals reviewed 4,288 works of art in the Indigenous Art Collection and chose 164 pieces to represent the development of the collection through its inception up to 2017

- Special thanks to Katrina Petryk, Kevin Sakolinsky, Garrison Garrow of CIRNAC for their support with sourcing and permissions for this monograph to be archived by the Lunar Codex; to Cory Dingle of the Estate of Norval Morrisseau for key introductions to CIRNAC; and to Anthony Milton and Toronto Life magazine for spreading the word that the Lunar Codex was actively seeking more representation from Indigenous and First Nations artists

- Bilingual txt, in French and English
- Cover art 'slivers' (2010) by 
Faye HeavyShield (Kainawa)
- Featuring art by

Barry Ace ▪ Roger Aksadjuak ▪ Allen "Ahmoo" Angeconeb ▪ Tracey Anthony ▪ George Arluk ▪ Germaine Arnaktauyok ▪ Arnaquq Ashevak ▪ Kenojuak Ashevak ▪ Kiawak Ashoona ▪ Shuvinai Ashoona ▪ Jason Baerg ▪ Rebecca Baird ▪ Mary Anne Barkhouse ▪ Carl Beam ▪ Shirley Bear ▪ Jackson Beardy ▪ Henry Beaudry ▪ Lance Belanger ▪ Christi Belcourt ▪ Leland Bell ▪ Michael Belmore ▪ Rebecca Belmore ▪ Scott Benesiinaabandan ▪ Dempsey Bob ▪ Vince Bomberry ▪ Bob Boyer ▪ Simon Brascoupé ▪ Bruno Canadien ▪ Joane Cardinal-Schubert ▪ Sarah Carr ▪ Christian Chapman ▪ Benjamin Chee Chee ▪ Dorothy Chocolate ▪ Lee Claremont ▪ Hannah Claus ▪ Dana Claxton ▪ Eddy Cobiness ▪ Ruth Cuthand ▪ Colleen Cutschall ▪ Joseph T. David ▪ Joe David ▪ Reg Davidson ▪ Robert Davidson ▪ Patricia Deadman ▪ Blake Debassige ▪ Beau Dick ▪ Gertrude Dick & Simon Dick ▪ Freda Diesing ▪ Wally Dion ▪ Vanessa Dion Fletcher ▪ Sheojuk Etidlooie ▪ Thomasie Etuangat ▪ Jerry A. Evans ▪ Rosalie Favell ▪ David Garneau ▪ David General ▪ Richard Glazer-Danay ▪ David Hannan ▪ Tanya Harnett ▪ Walter Harris ▪ Faye HeavyShield ▪ Chuck "Ya’Ya" Heit ▪ Tom Hill ▪ Richard W. Hill Sr. ▪ Robert Houle ▪ Calvin Hunt ▪ Henry Hunt ▪ Tony Hunt ▪ Maria Hupfield ▪ Sarah Inukpuk ▪ Elisapee Ishulutaq ▪ Naomi Ityi ▪ Mattiusi Iyaituk ▪ Joseph "Joe" Jacobs ▪ Alex Janvier ▪ Philip Janzé ▪ Alfred Joseph ▪ Francis Kagige ▪ Joshim Kakegamic ▪ Roy Kakegamic ▪ Towkie Karpik ▪ Elsie Anaginak Klengenberg ▪ Katia Kak'wa Kurtness ▪ Rita Letendre ▪ Eva Linklater ▪ George Littlechild ▪ Martin "Akwiranoron" Loft ▪ Jim Logan ▪ Kayley Mackay ▪ Joelee Maniapik ▪ Qavavau Manumie ▪ Clifford Maracle ▪ Teresa Marshall ▪ Glenna Matoush ▪ Walter McKenzie ▪ Kevin McKenzie ▪ Gerald McMaster ▪ Ohotaq Mikkigak ▪ Kent Monkman ▪ Shirley Moorhouse ▪ Christian Morrisseau ▪ Norval Morrisseau ▪ Ken Mowatt ▪ Earl Muldon & Ron Sebastian ▪ Nadia Myre ▪ David Neel ▪ Marianne Nicolson ▪ Shelley Niro ▪ Jeneen Frei Njootli ▪ William Noah ▪ Ron Noganosh ▪ Daphne Odjig ▪ Tim Paul ▪ Lionel Peyachew ▪ David Ruben Piqtoukun ▪ Tim Pitsiulak ▪ Susan Point ▪ Edward Poitras ▪ Jane Ash Poitras ▪ Annie Pootoogook ▪ Kananginak Pootoogook ▪ Barry Pottle ▪ John Powell ▪ Pudlo Pudlat ▪ Carl Ray ▪ Bill Reid ▪ Arthur Renwick ▪ Ryan Rice ▪ Garmel Rich ▪ Rick Rivet ▪ Eric A. Robertson ▪ Kakulu Saggiaktuk ▪ Pitaloosie Saila ▪ Nicotye Samayualie ▪ Allen Sapp ▪ Frank Shebageget ▪ Arthur Shilling ▪ Roger Simon ▪ Pierre Sioui ▪ Skawennati ▪ Ann Smith ▪ Henry Speck ▪ Greg Staats ▪ Alan J. Syliboy ▪ Gerald Tailfeathers ▪ Winnie Tatya ▪ Ningeokuluk Teevee ▪ Jeffrey M. Thomas ▪ Roy Thomas ▪ Art Thompson ▪ Simon Tookoome ▪ Oviloo Tunnillie ▪ Helen Wassegijig ▪ Elisapee Weetaluktuk ▪ Hjalmer Wenstob ▪ Tania Willard ▪ Linus Woods ▪ Lauren I. Wuttunee ▪ Donald Yeomans ▪ Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun
- Archived in the Polaris Collection of the Lunar Codex

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COPPER THUNDERBIRD: THE NORVAL MORRISSEAU COLLECTION

Estate of Norval Morrisseau (2023) - GM1


- Featuring works by the father of the Woodlands School of art, renowned Anishinaabe artist Norval Morrisseau, also known as Copper Thunderbird

- Collection curated specially for the Lunar Codex by the Estate of Norval Morrisseau 

- Special thanks to Cory Dingle of the Estate of Norval Morrisseau; and to Anthony Milton and Toronto Life magazine for spreading the word that the Lunar Codex was actively seeking more representation from Indigenous and First Nations artists
- Featuring an introduction by Cory Dingle and essays by Carmen Robertson
- Original works archived the portfolio include (titles to be finalized) Androgyny, Man Changing Into Thunderbird, Sacred Buffalo, Migration moment of humanity through portals of the universe, Morrisseau as the Thunderbird flying up to the ringed moon, Entities flying through the universe towards another portal, Drum, Snake biting its own tail 

- Archived in the Polaris Collection of the Lunar Codex

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ARCTIC JOURNEYS ANCIENT MEMORIES: SCULPTURE BY ABRAHAM ANGHIK RUBEN

National Museum of Natural History ▪ Smithsonian Institution ▪ Kipling Gallery (2012) - GM1


- Featuring sculpture by the acclaimed Inuvialuit artist Abraham Anghik Ruben

- Catalogue of an exhibition organized by the Smithsonian Institution's Arctic Studies Center with assistance from Kipling Gallery, Woodbridge, Ontario and presented October 4, 2012 -January 2,2013 at The National Museum of the American Indian
- Curation and accompanying text by Bernadette Driscoll Engelstad 

- Edited by Letitia Burns O'Connor ▪ Catalogue design by Dana Levy
- Photography by Daniel Dabrowski, Silvio Calcagno, Alan Bibby, and Ernest R Mayer

- Preface by Kevin Gover (Pawnee), Director of the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution

- Foreword by William W. Fitzhugh, Director of the Arctic Studies Center, National Museum of Natural History
- Special thanks to Lou Ruffolo of the Kipling Gallery

- "I have chosen to be a storyteller for my people through the medium of sculpture. Within these
images, I attempt to evoke a range ofthoughts, feelings, and emotions stirring within the audience;
these same thoughts, feelings, and emotions I have wrought into my work. I no longer speak my
mother tongue, yet I need to do my part in carrying on the stories and cultural myths, legends
and spiritual legacy of our people. My hope is that my hands and spirit within will allow me this
one gesture." - Abraham Anghik Ruben

- Archived in the Polaris Collection of the Lunar Codex

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GABREL DUMONT: LI CHEF MICHIF IN IMAGES AND IN WORDS

Gabriel Dumont Institute (2011) - GM1


- Authored by Darren R. Préfontaine

- Featuring art, photography, and article and essay excerpts by numerous Métis and other contributors around the theme of the life of Gabriel Dumont

- Special thanks to Karen Shmon and David Morin of the Gabriel Dumont Institute

Gabriel Dumont is an iconic figure in Métis and Canadian history. In the popular imagination, he is well known for leading the Métis forces during the 1885 Resistance, and for being a renowned bison hunt leader, a Wild West show performer, and a husband to his beloved Madeleine. But outside of printed history and a fragmented oral history what do we really know about him? How has he been imagined over time? This book answers these questions by focusing on visual and journalistic representations of Gabriel Dumont through time and space. These eclectic sources provide poignant vignettes of Gabriel Dumont’s life, which will greatly contribute to our knowledge about him, and will further contribute to his legend.

- Archived in the Polaris Collection of the Lunar Codex

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AN INSTITUTE OF OUR OWN: A HISTORY OF THE GABRIEL DUMONT INSTITUTE

Gabriel Dumont Institute (2021) - GM1


- Authored by Lisa Bird-Wilson, this book represents a photographic and illustrated history of the Gabriel Dumont Institute 

- Special thanks to Karen Shmon and David Morin of the Gabriel Dumont Institute

- The Gabriel Dumont Institute is Canada’s first, largest, and most prominent Métis institute. Breaking ground as the first wholly-owned and operated Métis-specific Institute, it has a unique dual focus of preserving and promoting Métis culture and history, and of providing for the education and training needs of the Saskatchewan's Métis population.

- The book chronicles the Institute’s history from the early activism of the seventies to the celebration of the Institute’s thirtieth anniversary in 2010. Based on personal interviews with many of the Institute’s founders and champions, Bird-Wilson paints a compelling picture of the issues, the times, and the people involved with building what has evolved into one of the Métis Nation’s greatest cultural institutions.

- Archived in the Polaris Collection of the Lunar Codex

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ARCHIVES OF THE MUSEUM OF INUIT ART

David J. Harris ▪ Museum of Inuit Art (2023) - GM1


- Archival documents and files from the Museum of Inuit Art (MIA), established by David J. Harris

- Located in Toronto over 2007-2016, the MIA was the first and largest Canadian museum dedicated to Inuit art. With 6,000+ sq-ft of space, it showcased a collection of 600-1,000 works - many via philanthropist Eric Sprott - including sculpture, works on paper, textiles, and ceramics, alongside a multimedia learning and workshop center 

- The MIA existed due to the efforts of Harris - a former teacher in Nunavut and founder in 1998 of the Harris Gallery of Inuit Art - and a group of partners, including curator Norman Zepp, previously curator of Inuit art at the Art Gallery of Ontario, associate curator Cynthia Waye, and a number of private art collectors. The MIA operated a 1,800 sq-ft gallery featuring original works sourced directly from cooperatives benefiting northern communities.

- Archives include audio files of a history of the museum, a biography of David J. Harris, an Introductory Guide, and a Catalogue of Selected Works, still to be indexed. The museum also published a series of multilingual magazines focusing Inuit arts and culture, as well as its own exhibits, indexed separately in this website

- Archived in the Polaris Collection of the Lunar Codex

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MUSEUM OF INUIT ART MAGAZINE

Museum of Inuit Art (2012) - GM1

 

- Premier issue of the Museum of Inuit Art magazine, published in Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, English and French

- David J. Harris ▪ Alysa Procida.

- Note indexing of magazine not yet completed

- Archived in the Polaris Collection of the Lunar Codex

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INUIT ART MAGAZINE

Museum of Inuit Art Inuit Art Magazine (2012) - GM1


- Premier issue of Inuit Art Magazine, published by the Museum of Inuit Art in Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, English and French

- David J. Harris, Senior Executive Editor ▪ Alysa Procida, Executive Editor - Christine Platt, Managing Editor

- Translations by Julia Demcheson, Inuktitut; M.J. Katiak, Innuinaqtun; Straker Translations, French

- Language editors Roselynn Akulukjuk and Francoise Mugnier

- Rudong Zheng, Graphic Designer

- Featuring art by
Abraham Anghik Ruben Bart Hanna Reneltta Arluk Lucy Tickiq Tunguaq Michael Massie Ningeokuluk Teevee Uriash Puqiqnak Pitseolak Qimirpik 

- Featuring articles by 
Alysa Procida Tom Smart Margaret Ballantyne Daniel Drouin Dr. Emily Hanna Christine Platt Rocco Pannese Nigel Reading Freia Sasse & Dorte Sasse Norman Zepp

- Note indexing of magazine not yet completed

- Archived in the Polaris Collection of the Lunar Codex

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SACRED EYE: THE KATHERINE TAKPANNIE COLLECTION

Takpannie Photography (2023) - GM1

- A collection of works by the National Gallery of Canada award winning Inuk photographer Katherine Takpannie, curated specially for the Lunar Codex

- Special thanks to Katrina Petryk of the Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC); and thanks to Olga Korper Gallery, the representatives for Takpannie Photography

- Original works archived the portfolio include Iqaluit | ᐃᖃᓗᐃᑦ #1 (2021), Amarok #5 (2023), Potential to Rise #10 (2023), Sedna | ᓴᓐᓇ #23 (2023), Raven | ᑐᓗᒐᖅ #10 (2023), Shamanism II #15 (2022).

- Archived in the Polaris Collection of the Lunar Codex

Art & Literary Magazines

A MANIFEST FOR THE MOON
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