Woodlands style, also called the Woodlands school, Legend painting, Medicine painting,
''Native American Artworld.'' (retrieved 25 Oct 2010) and Anishnabe painting, is a genre of painting among

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

and

Native American art Visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas encompasses the visual artistic practices of the indigenous peoples of the Americas from ancient times to the present. These include works from South America and North America, which includes ...

ists from the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

area, including northern

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

and southwestern

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. The majority of the Woodland artists belong to the

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawa ...

g, notably the

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

Odawa The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ), said to mean "traders", are an Indigenous American ethnic group who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, commonly known as the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. They h ...

, and

Potawatomi The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...

, as well as the

Oji-Cree The Oji-Cree are a First Nation in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba, residing in a narrow band extending from the Missinaibi River region in Northeastern Ontario at the east to Lake Winnipeg at the west. The Oji-Cree people are d ...

and the

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations. In Canada, over 350,000 people are Cree o ...

Origin

The style was founded by Norval Morrisseau ( Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabe), a First Nations

artist from Northern

Ontario, Canada Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. He learned Ojibwe history and culture primarily from his grandfather Moses "Potan" Nanakonagos and in the 1950s collected

oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...

of his community. Their history and cosmology has provided inspiration and subject matter for his paintings. His also drew upon his personal dreams, visions, Morrisseau said, "all my painting and drawing is really a continuation of the shaman's scrolls." and the

Eckankar Eckankar is a new religious movement founded by Paul Twitchell in 1965. Its membership today is primarily in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. The spiritual home is the Temple of ECK in Chanhassen, Minnesota. Eckankar is not affiliate ...

religion. Ojibwe intaglio, pictographs, petrographs

rock art In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also m ...

and birch bark scrolls,

Wiigwaasabak ''Wiigwaasabak'' (in Anishinaabe syllabics: , plural: ''wiigwaasabakoon'' ) are birch bark scrolls, on which the Ojibwa (Anishinaabe) people of North America wrote complex geometrical patterns and shapes, also known as a "written language." ...

, were stylistic antecedents of the Woodland style.

Style

This visionary style emphasizes outlines and X-ray views of people, animals, and plant life. Colours are vivid, even garish. While Morrisseau painted on birch bark initially, the media of Woodland style tends to be Western, such as acrylic, gouache, or watercolor paints on paper, wood panels, or canvas.

Woodland style artists

Ahmoo Angeconeb Ahmoo Angeconeb (19 April 1955 – 9 June 2017) was a Canadian Ojibwe artist. His style was influenced by the Woodlands School, but incorporated elements from different cultures and artistic traditions. He travelled widely and found success as ...

(

Lac Seul First Nation Lac Seul First Nation is an Ojibwe First Nation band government located on the southeastern shores of Lac Seul, northeast of the city of Dryden, Ontario. Though Lac Seul First Nation is a treaty signatory to Treaty 3, the First Nation is a mem ...

, 1955–2017) * Jackson Beardy ( Anishinini, 1944–1984)Berlo and Phillips 231 *

Benjamin Chee Chee Kenneth Thomas Chee Chee (26 March 1944 – 14 March 1977), known as Benjamin Chee Chee, was an Ojibwa Canadian artist born in Temagami, Ontario. Early life Chee Chee's early life was troubled and he lost track of his mother, for whom he spen ...

( Eabametoong

, 1944–1977) *

Shirley Cheechoo Shirley Cheechoo ( cr, ᔒᓕᒋᒍ born 1952) is a Canadian Cree actress, writer, producer, director, and visual artist, best known for her solo-voice or monodrama play ''Path With No Moccasins'', as well as her work with De-Ba-Jeh-Mu-Jig theat ...

(

, b. 1952) *

Kelly Church Kelly Jean Church ( Match-e-benash-she-wish Potawatomi/Odawa/Ojibwe) is a black ash basket maker, Woodlands style painter, birchbark biter, and educator. Background Kelly Church, a fifth-generation basket maker, was born in 1967. She grew up ...

(

Gun Lake Potawatomi The Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan is a federally recognized tribe of Potawatomi people in Michigan named for a 19th-century Ojibwe chief. They were formerly known as the Gun Lake Band of Grand River Ottawa Indian ...

, b. 1967) *

Eddy Cobiness Eddy Cobiness, (July 17, 1933 – January 1, 1996) was a Canadian artist. He was an Ojibwe-Native Canadian and his art work is characterized by scenes from the life outdoors and nature. He began with realistic scenes and then evolved into mo ...

( Buffalo Point

Ojibwa The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

, 1933–1996) * Blake Debassige (

M'Chigeeng Ojibwe Chippewas of Rama First Nation, also known as Chippewas of Mnjikaning and Chippewas of Rama Mnjikaning First Nation ( oj, Mnjikaning Anishinaabek, also alternatively Rama Anishinaabek), is an Anishinaabe (Ojibway) First Nation located in the pro ...

, b. 1956) * Tom Hogan, (

, 1955–2014) *

Abe Kakepetum Abe Kakepetum (September 12, 1944 – January 5, 2019) was a Canadian Anishinaabe painter, who began painting at age nine. Kakepetum was born in Sandy Lake First Nation in northwest Ontario, Canada and a member of Keewaywin First Nation. His arti ...

( Sandy Lake Oji-Cree) * Norval Morrisseau ( ᒥᐢᒁᐱᐦᐠ ᐊᓂᒥᐦᑮ/ Miskwaabik Animikii) (

Bingwi Neyaashi Ojibwe The Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek (formerly known as Sand Point First Nation, and occasionally known as Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabeg) is an Ojibwe First Nation Band government in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Their traditional territory is the San ...

, ca. 1932–2007) *

Daphne Odjig Daphne Odjig, D.Litt LL. D. (September 11, 1919 – October 1, 2016), was a Canadian First Nations artist of Odawa- Potawatomi- English heritage. Her paintings are often characterized as Woodlands Style or as the pictographic style. She was ...

(

, 1919–2016) * Carl Ray ( Sandy Lake Cree, 1943–1978) *

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly ...

( Long Lake

Ojibway The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

, 1949-2004) *

Jackie Traverse Jackie Traverse (born September 30, 1969) is an Indigenous (or Aboriginal) artist and activist from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Biography Traverse in an Anishinaabe, specifically Ojibwe, from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She spent her early years with her bi ...

( Lake St. Martin

, b. 1968)

Notes

References

* Berlo, Janet C. and Ruth B. Phillips. ''Native North American Art''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998: 97-8. .

External links

"The Socio-Political Influence of Woodlands Art,"
Native Art in Canada

Woodland style blog {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodlands Style Art movements Anishinaabe culture Indigenous painting of the Americas Great Lakes tribal culture