72 CANADIAN A RT • SPRING 2016Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
during a work out at the Pan Am
Boxing Club in Winnipeg,
February 2 013 PHOTO JOE BRYKSA/
WINNIPEG FREE PRESSLEGACY
A First Nations artist leaves his mark
TRUDEAU
’
STATTOO
HAIDA GWAII In 1985 , I collaborated on a painting with my daughter, Sara,
called Raven Bringing Light to the World. We sold the print and all the money
went toward Sara’s fare for a trip she took to the USSR. She was 12 at the time.
I drew a circle, and she did the inside: a small yellow dot for the sun, a crescent
moon and lots of little happy faces. I did the outside, the Raven. I heard that
when Justin Trudeau got his tattoo, which was inspired by my artwork, he
already had the globe on his shoulder, and that replaced Sara’s part of the
design. I talked with her, and she said she was okay with it— I think we were
both more humoured than upset.
I’m always surprised when one of my designs shows up on someone as a
tattoo, but I don’t feel slighted. I treat it more like a compliment, but I still
appreciate it when people ask permission. To me, cultural appropriation is
where we’re not recognized for our contributions. I remember as a teenager in
high school, I would look through the Canadian social-studies book to read
about the Haida, and I think there might have been one paragraph. The rest
was about conquering the Natives. It really left an emptiness in me. It wasn’t
until years later that I started to relearn my history. Through hosting the
potlatch with my grandmother as a mentor, I realized there’s more to art than
just images. Our images carry the history of our past.
I chose Raven because Sara’s crest is a Raven. Raven is also a cultural hero for
the Northwest Coast peoples. Many of our stories are channelled through Raven,
many of our lessons, many of our laws. The story of Raven Bringing Light to the
World is that there was a period of darkness, and Raven knew about a chief who
owned the sun, moon and stars. The chief was very protective, so the Raven had
to find a way to be devious. He disguised himself and then carried the moon
and sun through the smoke hole in the chief’s house, which turned him black,
and placed them where they are now. There certainly was a dark period in
Canadian history, with Harper, who was muting not only First Nations people,
but also scientists. I don’t understand what that was all for.
For the Haida people, being tattooed is a way of reaffirming identity and
belonging to a clan. Charles Edenshaw, my grandmother’s father, was tattooed
all over his body. My grandmother, who had the authority to give names and
adoptions because of her age and knowledge, honoured Pierre Trudeau in 1976
with a Haida name, Kihl gulaans, which translates to “his voice is good as gold.”
Adoptions are a way of showing our generosity. We’re continually giving. Eventu-
ally, Canada will honour its promises and give back. ■As told to Rosie PrataBY ROBERT DAVIDSONLegacy-Trudeau-tatoo_sp16_12TS_LR.indd 72 02/04/16 1:19 PM