Under the editorial direction of Anishinaabe artist and scholar Bonnie Devine, Early Days gathers the insights of myriad Indigenous cultural stakeholders, informing us on everything from goose hunting techniques, to the history of Northwest Coast mask making, to the emergence of the Woodland style of painting and printmaking, to the challenges of art making in the Arctic, to the latest developments in contemporary art by Indigenous peoples from across Turtle Island.
Splendidly illustrated, Early Days not only tells the story of a leading collection but traces the emergence and increasing participation of many Indigenous artists in the contemporary art world. This publication will be the largest in the history of the McMichael, and represents a vital acknowledgment of the place of Indigenous art and ways of knowing in global art history.
Featured contributors:
- Barry Ace
- Leland Bell
- Dempsey Bob
- Christian Chapman
- Violet Chum
- Hannah Claus
- Dana Claxton
- Jisgang Nika Collison
- Alan Corbiere
- Marcia Crosby
- Ruth Cuthand
- Mique’l Dangeli
- Joe David
- Sarah Davidson
- Robert Davidson
- Bonnie Devine
- Tarralik Duffy
- Norma Dunning
- David Garneau
- John Geoghegan
- Janice Grey
- Haay’uups (Ron Hamilton)
- Jim Hart
- Emma Hassencahl-Perley
- Emily Henderson
- Lynn A. Hill
- Richard Hill
- Maria Hupfield
- Jaimie Isaac
- Heather Igoliorte
- Luis Jacob
- Gayle Kabloona
- William Kingfisher
- Jessica Kotierk
- Robin Laurence
- Duane Linklater
- Ange Loft
- Tanya Lukin Linklater
- Jean Marshal
- Michael Massie
- Gerald McMaster
- Ossie Michelin
- Sarah Milroy
- Antoine Mountain
- Nadia Myre
- Jeneen Frei Njootli
- Ruth Phillips
- Jocelyn Piirainen
- Ryan Rice
- Carmen Robertson
- Paul Seesequasis
- Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
- Wedlidi Speck
- Clyde Tallio
- Drew Hayden Taylor
- Nakkita Trimble-Wilson
- Jesse Tungilik
- Camille Georgeson Usher
- William Wasden Jr.
- Jordan Wilson
- Jessica Winters.
Author
Bonnie Devine is an installation artist, educator, and writer. An off-reserve member of the Genaabaajing Anishinaabek (Serpent River First Nation) on the north shore of Lake Huron, Devine explores issues of land, environment, treaty, history, and narrative. Though she holds degrees from both the Ontario College of Art and Design University and York University, Devine’s most enduring learning came from her grandparents, who were trappers on the Canadian Shield in Northern Ontario. In 2014 and 2015 she installed Battle for the Woodlands at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Her recent exhibitions include the touring show La Rabida, Soul of Conquest: an Anishinaabe encounter curated by the Art Gallery of Peterborough (2018–22), The Gift at the University of Michigan Museum of Art (2022), and From Water to Water: A Way Through the Trees at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection (2022–23). Recent public acknowledgements of Devine’s practice include a Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award and OCAD U’s Award for Distinguished Research and Creative Activity in 2019, as well as a Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts in 2021.
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Sarah Milroy is Chief Curator of McMichael Canadian Art Collection, former editor and publisher of Canadian Art, and former chief art critic of the Globe and Mail. She has edited or contributed numerous art books, and is the author of, most recently, Uninvited: Canadian Women Artists in the Modern Moment (2021).
Photo credit: Craig Boyko
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John Geoghegan is a curator and writer from Hamilton, Ontario, currently based in Toronto. John joined the McMichael as associate curator, collections and research, in 2022 and has contributed to several McMichael publications, including Uninvited: Canadian Women Artists in the Modern Moment (2021), Elisapee Ishulutaq: My World (2022), and Gathie Falk: Revelations (2022). He holds an MA in art history from York University and is a former senior editor of Inuit Art Quarterly.
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