Gail Tremblay (December 15, 1945 – May 3, 2023) was an American writer and artist from Washington State. She is known for weaving baskets from film footage that depicts

Native American people Native Americans (also called American Indians, First Americans, or Indigenous Americans) are the Indigenous peoples of the United States, particularly of the lower 48 states and Alaska. They may also include any Americans whose origins lie ...

, such as Western movies and anthropological documentaries. She received a Washington State Governor's Arts and Heritage Award in 2001.

Background

Tremblay was born on December 15, 1945, in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. She claimed her father was of

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...

and

Onondaga Onondaga may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Onondaga people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois League * Onondaga (village), Onondaga settlement and traditional Iroquois capit ...

ancestry, and that her great-grandfather once lived in

Kahnawake The Kahnawake Mohawk Territory (, in the Mohawk language, ''Kahnawáˀkye'' in Tuscarora) is a First Nations reserve of the Mohawks of Kahnawà:ke on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada, across from Montreal. Establi ...

near Montreal. She never offered any documentation of this and the

U.S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relating t ...

’s

Indian Arts and Crafts Board The Indian Arts and Crafts Board (IACB) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior whose mission is to "promote the economic development of American Indians and Alaska Natives through the expansion of the Indian arts and craf ...

determined that she was not Indigenous after a thorough investigation of her claims. Her father was Roland G. Tremblay (1917–2013), who was born in

Somersworth, New Hampshire Somersworth is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 11,855 at the 2020 census. Somersworth has the smallest area and third-lowest population of New Hampshire's 13 cities. History Prior to European settle ...

, to Peter Tremblay and Bernadette Demers Tremblay. Gail Tremblay received her BA in theater in 1967 from the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant coll ...

and an MFA in English (Creative Writing) from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

, Eugene in 1969.

Writing and education career

Tremblay was a faculty member at

The Evergreen State College The Evergreen State College is a public liberal arts college in Olympia, Washington. Founded in 1967, it offers a non-traditional undergraduate curriculum in which students have the option to design their own study towards a degree or follow a ...

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington. It had a population of 55,605 at the 2020 census, making it the state of Washington's 23rd-most populous city. Olympia is the county seat of Thurston County, and the central city ...

and taught courses in English, art history, and

Native American studies Native American studies (also known as American Indian, Indigenous American, Aboriginal, Native, or First Nations studies) is an interdisciplinary academic field that examines the history, culture, politics, issues, spirituality, sociology and co ...

. She began her faculty appointment at Evergreen in 1980 and taught her last class in 2018 in the newly finished fiber studio at the Longhouse. She was recognized by the

Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation is a United States literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from ''Poetry'' magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthrop ...

. Tremblay also wrote exhibition catalog essays about other artists, including, "Speaking in a Language of Vital Signs," for the 2008 exhibition catalogue
''Joe Feddersen: Vital Signs''
at the

Hallie Ford Museum of Art The Hallie Ford Museum of Art (HFMA) is the museum of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, United States. It is the third largest art museum in Oregon. Opened in 1998, the facility is across the street from the Oregon State Capital in downtown ...

Willamette University Willamette University is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with locations in Salem, Oregon, Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United ...

Visual art

Tremblay described her work as combining historical Native American techniques and materials with mainstream artistic expression. Her poetry and art were inspired by the cultures of

Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands include Native American tribes and First Nation bands residing in or originating from a cultural area encompassing the northeastern and Midwest United States and southeastern Canada. It is part ...

. Tremblay says she learned basketry from her aunts, but "update them for a contemporary audience" through the use of modern materials such as film stock and film leader. Tremblay's art draws from Native American history, Indigenous cosmologies, along with literature, Western movies, and other pop culture references. She created a basket using red and white film leader entitled, ''And Then There's the Business of Fancydancing'', inspired by

Sherman Alexie Sherman Joseph Alexie Jr. (born October 7, 1966) is a Native American novelist, short story writer, poet, screenwriter, and filmmaker. His writings draw on his experiences as an Indigenous American with ancestry from several tribes. He grew up ...

's film, ''

The Business of Fancydancing ''The Business of Fancydancing'' is a 2002 film written and directed by Sherman Alexie. It is loosely based on his 1992 book of the same name, a collection of stories and poems. Plot The film explores the tension between two Spokane (tribe), Spo ...

'' (2002), in which the main character, a Spokane man, is lovers with a white man. Tremblay describes the work, saying, "I chose to use Porcupine Stitch because there are so many difficult and prickly relationships between characters in this film.” The film influence on her baskets also includes ''When will the Red Leader Overshadow Images of the 19th Century Noble Savage in Hollywood Films that Some Think are Sympathetic to American Indians'' (2018), a basket woven using

35mm movie film 35 mm film is a film gauge used in filmmaking, and the film standard. In motion pictures that record on film, 35 mm is the most commonly used gauge. The name of the gauge is not a direct measurement, and refers to the nominal width of the ...

from the movie '' Windwalker'' (1981), which was acquired by the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds one of the world's lar ...

in 2021. ''Artweek'' reviewer Marcia Morse writes, “''And Then There is The Hollywood Indian Princess'' (2002). Using the

Northeastern Woodlands Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands include Native American tribes and First Nation bands residing in or originating from a cultural area encompassing the northeastern and Midwest United States and southeastern Canada. It is part ...

fancy-stick basket weaving, Tremblay wove with, not brown ash and sweetgrass used by Northeastern tribes, but recycled 16 mm leader and film on sexually transmitted diseases, elegantly subverting multiple stereotypes.”

Exhibitions

Tremblay'sy solo exhibitions and group shows include ''Gail Tremblay: Fiber, Metal, Wood'' (1988), Museum of the Plains Indian,

Browning, Montana Browning is a former town and current Census-designated place in Glacier County, Montana, Glacier County, Montana, United States. It is the headquarters for the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and was the only incorporated town on the Reservation. T ...

; ''The Empty Fish Trap Installation'' (2004),

Evergreen State College The Evergreen State College is a public liberal arts college in Olympia, Washington. Founded in 1967, it offers a non-traditional undergraduate curriculum in which students have the option to design their own study towards a degree or follow a ...

Gallery,

; ''Gail Tremblay: Twenty Years of Making'' (2002),

Daybreak Star Cultural Center The Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center is a Native Americans in the United States, Native American cultural center in Seattle, Washington, described by its parent organization United Indians of All Tribes as "an urban base for Native Amer ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

; ''Reframing Images, Conceptualizing Indigenous Art'' (2013), Froelick Gallery,

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

;and ''Art of Gail Tremblay'' (2017),

Eastern Washington University Eastern Washington University (EWU) is a public university in Cheney, Washington, United States. It shares its satellite campus in Spokane, Washington with Washington State University. Founded in 1882, the university is academically divided in ...

Downtown Gallery,

Cheney, Washington Cheney ( ) is a city in Spokane County, Washington, United States. The full-time resident population was 13,255 as of the 2020 census. Eastern Washington University is located in Cheney. When classes are in session at EWU, the city's populati ...

Works in public collections

* ''Basket'' (c. 1990),

Portland Art Museum The Portland Art Museum (PAM) is an art museum in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. The Portland Art Museum has 240,000 square feet (22,000 m2), with more than 112,000 square feet (10,400 m2) of gallery space. The museum’s permanent c ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

* ''Strawberry and Chocolate'' (2000),

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

* ''In the World of White Line Fever...'' (2001),

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...

* ''And Then There is the Hollywood Indian Princess'' (2002), Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Salem, Oregon * ''Waiting for the Return: 5 Fish Traps'' (2002-2003), Marian Gould Gallagher Law Library,

University of Washington School of Law The University of Washington School of Law is the law school of the University of Washington, located on the northwest corner of the main campus in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. The school is fully accredited by the American Bar Asso ...

(Washington State Arts Commission) * ''A Note to Lewis and Clark's Ghosts'' (2004), Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Salem, Oregon; and National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. * ''The Ghost of Salmon'' (2004), from ''Canopy End Structures'' (with

Rick Bartow Richard Elmer "Rick" Bartow (December 16, 1946 – April 2, 2016) was a Native American artist and a member of the Mad River band of the Wiyot Tribe, who are indigenous to Humboldt County, California. He primarily created pastel, graphite, and m ...

, Ken Mackintosh, and

Lillian Pitt Lillian Pitt (born 1944) is a Native American artist from the Columbia River Plateau region of the Pacific Northwest. Her Native American name is Wak'amu (camas root), chosen because it represents a "stubborn plant that won't let go of the earth", ...

), Rosa Parks Station,

TriMet The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) is a Transit district, transit agency that serves most of the Oregon part of the Portland metropolitan area. Created in 1969 by the Oregon Legislative Assembly, Oregon legi ...

, Portland, Oregon * ''Hunting for the Red Queen on the Big Night Out'' (2008),

(Washington State Arts Commission) * ''An Iroquois Dreams That the Tribes of the Middle East Will Take the Message of Deganawida to Heart and Make Peace'' (2009),

Whatcom Museum The Whatcom Museum is a natural history and art museum located in Bellingham, Washington. Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the Whatcom Museum has a three building campus that includes Old City Hall, Old Fire Station No.1, and The L ...

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the county seat of Whatcom County, Washington, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It lies south of the Canada–United States border, U.S.–Canada border, between Vancouver, British Columbia, ...

* ''And Then There's the Business of Fancy Dancing...'' (2011),

Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (AMFA), formerly known as the Arkansas Arts Center, is an art museum located in MacArthur Park, Little Rock, Arkansas. The museum's most recent expansion and renovation was designed by architecture and urban des ...

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

* ''In Great Expectations, There is no Red Leader'' (2011), Portland Art Museum, Oregon * ''It Was Never About Playing Cowboys and Indians'' (2012),

Denver Art Museum The Denver Art Museum (DAM) is an art museum located in the Civic Center of Denver, Colorado. With an encyclopedic collection of more than 70,000 diverse works from across the centuries and world, the DAM is one of the largest art museums betwe ...

* ''When Ice Stretched on for Miles'' (2017),

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

* ''When will the Red Leader Overshadow Images of the 19th Century Noble Savage in Hollywood Films that Some Think are Sympathetic to American Indians'' (2018),

, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. * ''When There Is No Category for a Film in a Native American Language on Oscar Night, Clearly It Is in a League of Its Own'' (2021),

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, New York

Publications

* ''Night Gives Women the Word'' (Omaha Printing Company, 1979) * ''Close to Home'' (University of Nebraska, 1981) * ''Indian Singing in 20th Century America'' (CALYX Books, 1990) *''Farther From and Too Close to Home'' (CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2013)

References

14. https://daybreakstarradio.com/2022/12/gail-tremblay-interview/ Daybreakstar Interview December 5, 2022 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tremblay, Gail 1945 births 2023 deaths American people who self-identify as being of Mi'kmaq descent American women academics Artists from Buffalo, New York American basket weavers Evergreen State College faculty University of Oregon alumni University of New Hampshire alumni Writers from Buffalo, New York Writers from Olympia, Washington American women installation artists American installation artists 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American women artists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Artists from Washington (state) American people who self-identify as being of Iroquois descent American women basket weavers Weavers from New York (state) Weavers from Washington (state)