New College has been home to the Woodland Indigenous Art Collection since 1979/80.
What is Woodland style art?
The Woodland school is a distinct style of art blending traditional knowledge, legends, and myths with contemporary mediums. It explores the relationships between people, animals, and plants and is rich with spiritual imagery and symbolism. With its bright colours, bold lines, and 2-dimensional design, Woodland is one of the most recognizable forms of Indigenous art. The visionary style emphasizes heavy black form lines and x-ray views of colourful, figurative images. Its perspective is frontal, profile, or aerial, lacking ground lines and indications of horizons. Indigenous symbolism is at the heart of Woodland Art, yet the mediums are anything but traditional. Woodland paintings are typically acrylic or watercolour paints on paper, canvas, or wood.
Copper Thunderbird (1932-2007), also known as Norval Morrisseau, an Anishinaabeg artist from Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek First Nation, is credited as the founder of the Woodland school of art. He is credited as the first of the Anishinaabeg to paint Indigenous knowledges and was initially criticized for sharing cultural information this way. His unique style gained traction in the late 1960s, revitalizing traditional Anishinaabeg icons and inspiring many generations of artists from Northwestern Ontario and Manitoba.
The Collection
White Faced Eagle (1979), Acrylic and paper collage, 41.00 x 51.00 in.
Carl Beam, (1943-2005), M’Chigeeng
Location: Wilson Hall, Library, main level, west wall
Going Back to Manitoulin (1979), Acrylic on paper, 40.00 x 31.75 in.
Leland Bebaminojmat Bell, (1953-1991), Wikwemikong Unceded Territory
Location: Wilson Hall, Library, stairwell grouping, east wall
Mother and Daughter Talking (1978), Acrylic on paper, 40.50 x 36.50 in.
Leland Bebaminojmat Bell, (1953-1991), Wikwemikong Unceded Territory
Location: Library, main level stairwell
My People’s Travels (unknown), Acrylic on canvas, 51.00 x 47.00 in.
Dr. Blake Debassige, (1956-2022), M’Chigeeng
Location: Wetmore Hall, Senior Common Room, north wall
Birth of Beavers (1978), Acrylic on canvas, 22.25 x 30.25 in.
Dusty Kakegamic, (1962-), Keewaywin
Location: Wetmore Hall, Senior Common Room, west wall
Dancing of Great Spirits (1978), Acrylic on canvas, 23.00 x 31.00 in.
Dusty Kakegamic, (1962-), Keewaywin
Location: Wetmore Hall, Senior Common Room, east wall
Feeding the Young (1978), Acrylic on canvas, 20.75 x 15.13 in.
Dusty Kakegamic, (1962-), Keewaywin
Location: Wetmore Hall, Senior Common Room, west wall
Family (1978), Acrylic on canvas, 16.25 x 21.25 in.
Dusty Kakegamic, (1962-), Keewaywin
Location: Wetmore Hall, Senior Common Room, east wall
The Flight (1978), Acrylic or gouache, 32.25 x 40.25 in.
Goyce Kakegamic, (1948-2021), Sandy Lake
Location: Wetmore Hall, Principal’s office
Untitled (1) (1978), Acrylic on canvas, 47.50 x 62.50 in.
Goyce Kakegamic, (1948-2021), Sandy Lake
Location: Wilson Hall, Library, main level, west wall
Family (1978), Acrylic on board, 34.25 x 27.25 in.
Goyce Kakegamic, (1948-2021), Sandy Lake
Location: Wetmore Hall, Principal’s office
Untitled (2) (unknown), [unknown], [unknown]
Kakegamic, Goyce, (1948-2021), Sandy Lake
Location: Wetmore Hall
The Shaking Tent (1977), Acrylic on paper, 22.09 x 29.57 in.
Joshim Kakegamic, (1952-1993), Sandy Lake
Location: Wetmore Hall, International Foundations Program office
The First Beaver House (unknown), [unknown], [unknown]
Morley Kakepetum, (1936-2010), Sandy Lake
Location: Wetmore Hall
Two Eagles (1978), Acrylic on canvas, 30.50 x 28.50 in.
Eleanor Kanasawe, (1958-), Wikwemikong Unceded Territory
Location: Wilson Hall, Library, main level, stairwell grouping, east wall
Legend of Another Time (1978), Acrylic on paper, 29.00 x 22.50 in.
John Eric Laford, (1954-2021), M’Chigeeng
Location:
Medicine Turtle Dance (unknown), Acrylic on paper, [unknown]
John Eric Laford, (1954-2021), M’Chigeeng
Location:
John Paul (1978), Acrylic on canvas, 40.00 x 31.75 in.
Daphne Odjig, (1919-2016), Wikwemikong Unceded Territory
Location: Wilson Hall, Library, main level, stairwell grouping, east wall
Going to Heaven (1978), Acrylic on canvas, 30.00 x 40.00 in.
Carl Ray, (1943-1979), Sandy Lake
Location: Wilson Hall, Library, main level, stairwell grouping, south wall
Grandfather Smoking Pipe (unknown), Acrylic on canvas, 23.62 x 29.33 in.
Carl Ray, (1943-1979), andy Lake
Location: Wilson Hall, Library, main level, stairwell grouping, south wal
Separation (1976), Acrylic on canvas, 18.82 x 24.53 in.
Carl Ray (1943-1979), Sandy Lake
Location: Wetmore Hall, International Foundations Program office
Bear (1980), Acrylic on canvas, 18.62 x 19.61 in.
James Simon Mishibinijima, (1954-), Wikwemikong Unceded Territory
Location: Wilson Hall, Library, main level, south wall
Porcupine (1980), Acrylic on canvas, 19.69 x 23.70 in.
James Simon Mishibinijima, (1954-), Wikwemikong Unceded Territory
Location: Wilson Hall, Library, main level, south wall
Untitled (unknown), Acrylic and graphite, 14.33 x 21.46 in.
Roy Thomas, (1949-2004), Longlac at Pacquashun
Location: Wetmore Hall, International Foundations Program office
Moose and Wolves (unknown), [unknown], [unknown]
Roy Thomas, (1949-2004), Longlac at Pacquashun
Location: Wilson Hall, Library, main level, south wall
Signs of the Weather (1977), Acrylic on canvas, 37.37 x 25.25 in.
Randy Trudeau, (1954-2013), Wikwemikong Unceded Territory
Location: Wilson Hall, Library, main level, stairwell grouping, east wall
Nokomos Became Powerful (N/A), Acrylic on canvas, 17.40 x 25.59 in.
Randy Trudeau, (1954-2013), Wikwemikong Unceded Territory
Location: Wetmore Hall
Thunderbirds (1979), Acrylic on canvas, 50.00 x 50.00 in.
Randy Trudeau, (1954-2013), Wikwemikong Unceded Territory
Location: Wilson Hall, Library, main level, west wall grouping
Loon (1978), Black ink on canvas, 11.42 x 17.64 in.
Saul Williams, (1954-), Weagamow (North Caribou) Lake
Location: Wetmore Hall
Turmoils of Life [Using Animals as Interpretations] (unknown), Acrylic on canvas, 21.50 x 29.21 in.
Saul Williams, (1954-), Weagamow (North Caribou) Lake
Location: Wilson Hall, Library, stairwell grouping, east wall
Mythical Creatures [Surrounding Man] (unknown), Acrylic on canvas, 28.25 x 35.38 in.
Saul Williams, (1954-), Weagamow (North Caribou) Lake
Location: Wilson Hall, Library, stairwell grouping, east wall
Diving Birds (1978), Acrylic on canvas, 37.38 x 28.25 in.
Saul Williams, (1954-), Weagamow (North Caribou) Lake
Location: Wilson Hall, Library, main level, near Stacks entrance
The Artists
Carl Beam, (1943-2005), M’Chigeeng
Born Carl Edward Migwans on West Bay (M’Chigeeng), Manitoulin Island, Beam was a Survivor of the Garnier Residential School, an experience he referenced in several works. Beam studied at the Kootenay School of Art, the University of Victoria, and the University of Alberta. In 1986, Beam’s The North American Iceberg became the first work acquired from an Indigenous artist as a contemporary work, rather than as an ethnographic piece, by the National Gallery of Canada. Through his work, Beam grappled with questions of identity, prejudice, homelessness, hunger, and what it means to live a good life. Beam believed everyday actions and decisions could have profound effects on the world. Beam was inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of the Arts in 2000 and recieved the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts in 2005. In 2010-2011, the National Gallery of Canada held a major retrospective which recognized Beam as one of Canada’s most influential artists who succeeded in eliminating the boundary between Indigenous and contemporary art. The retrospective later toured Canada and the United States.
Leland Bebaminojmat Bell, (1953-1991), Wikwemikong Unceded Territory
Born on Wikwemikong Unceded Territory and raised between there and Toronto, Bell is an Anishinabe artist know for his use of stylized human figures, inspired by family and friends, depicted in images of nurturing, sharing, and learning. Bell, whose traditional name, Bebaminojmat, means ‘when you go around you talk about good things’, studied art at Laurentian University in Sudbury. Bell believes that the way that “colours, lines, shapes and compositions are perceived” can be understood in the context of Anishinabe culture. Bell was mentored by members of the Indian Group of Seven at the Manitou Arts Foundation summer school that operated on Schreiber Island in 1972. Bell has painted professionally since 1976. He is also a devoted writer and musician who often collaborated with Dr. Shirley Cheechoo and her husband Dr. Blake Debassige to write music for Cheechoo’s film projects.
Dr. Blake Debassige, (1956-2022), M’Chigeeng
Dusty Kakegamic, (1962-), Keewaywin
Goyce Kakegamic, (1948-2021), Sandy Lake
Joshim Kakegamic, (1952-1993), Sandy Lake
Morley Kakepetum, (1936-2010), Sandy Lake
Eleanor Kanasawe, (1958-), Wikwemikong Unceded Territory
John Eric Laford, (1954-2021), M’Chigeeng
Daphne Odjig, (1919-2016), Wikwemikong Unceded Territory
Carl Ray, (1943-1979), Sandy Lake
James Simon Mishibinijima, (1954-), Wikwemikong Unceded Territory
Roy Thomas, (1949-2004), Longlac at Pacquashun
Randy Trudeau, (1954-2013), Wikwemikong Unceded Territory
Saul Williams, (1954-), Weagamow (North Caribou) Lake
Williams is a painter and graphic artist from North Caribou Lake. In the summer of 1968, Williams met Dr. Mary Black who he began doing translation work. Noticing that Williams was often doodling and sketching, Black gifted Williams acrylic paints and later paid him five dollars to paint a stylized raven on her wall–a piece that is now a part of the Royal Ontario Museum collection. Williams is largely self-taught. In 1971, he held his first exhibition at York University in Toronto. Other exhibitions followed, including one at the Oakville Centennial Gallery, two at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, and four at the Royal Ontario Museum. Williams’ 1984 exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario was one of the first exhibitions of Indigenous art at the institution. Today, Williams is a community leader and advocate for the inclusion of Indigenous languages, traditions, and cultures in curriculum. He currently serves as the Education Director at the North Caribou Lake Education Authority. Williams’ works are held in private and public collections including the Royal Ontario Museum; the McMichael Canadian Art Collection; the Canadian Museum of Civilization; New College, University of Toronto; the Woodland Cultural Centre; and the Thunder Bay Art Gallery.