A new exhibit at the Alberni Valley Museum explores the legacy of Tseshaht First Nation artist George Clutesi through his art, scholarly work and human rights activism.
The exhibition, which opened in March, features more than 51 original and reproduction works by Clutesi in the form of oil paintings, watercolours, linocut prints and drawings. It also includes new art by Nuu-chah-nulth artists that use his legacy as inspiration for the continuance and growth of Nuu-chah-nulth art practices, including gathering materials from nature, painting, printing, video, song and carving.
But one of the most touching features of the exhibit is a documentary film that explores Clutesi’s legacy as a person, caregiver and human rights advocate through the childhood memories of seven Alberni Indian Residential School (AIRS) survivors.
Clutesi, who died in 1988, was a residential school survivor himself, but he began working as a custodian at the school in the 1960s. According to Ann Robinson, cultural coordinator for the exhibit and a representative for the Clutesi family, he taught Tseshaht First Nation songs and dance to the students there at a time when Indigenous children were encouraged to forget their cultural traditions.
“He became a safe place for those students,” said Robinson. “He brought something else to them to balance it out.”
Alberni Valley Museum coordinator Shelley Harding agreed that Clutesi was an “important individual” to survivors, both in their formative years and later as adults.
“He related the traditional knowledge, language and belief system throughout all those years of oppression,” said Harding. “I think he speaks to many different walks of life.”
Born in the Tseshaht village of maaktii in 1905, Clutesi starting creating art at an early age and began to exhibit his work in the 1940s and 1950s. Emily Carr was so impressed with his work that she gifted her paint brushes, oils and canvases to Clutesi in her will.
While recovering from a back injury from his job as a pile driver, Clutesi began contributing articles to the Indigenous newspaper Native Voice and began sharing Nuu-chah-nulth stories to listeners on CBC radio. He became one of the first Indigenous people in British Columbia to write about First Nations legends and customs, which had formerly been the realm of anthropologists and folklorists.
Today, he is remembered as a Tseshaht First Nation artist, scholar, educator, activist and actor. He was a firm believer in his traditional ways and lived his life with a core belief of passing on his knowledge to the next generation. The words that follow his name in the exhibition title describe him in the Tseshaht language: ḥašaḥʔap (keep, protective), ʔaapḥii (generous), ʕac̓ik (talented), ḥaaʔaksuqƛ (strong willed), ʔiiḥmisʔap (treasure).
“He’s an anchor for our culture, our ways of life and our worldview,” said Robinson. “He spent his entire life sharing and teaching. [This exhibit] fills my heart—it brings back so many powerful memories and reminders.”
Robinson also remembers that Clutesi always understood the importance of women in the Tseshaht community.
“He always used to say, ‘I’m nothing without my women,’” Robinson recalled.
The exhibition is punctuated with archival news articles and photographs that illustrate the contributions Clutesi made to the lives of Indigenous peoples, and to Canada, during his lifetime. It also includes a soundscape of a CJAV radio interview with Clutesi from 1987, just a year before his death.
Harding says the exhibit has been in the making for around three years. It was developed with members of the family of George Clutesi and in collaboration with Nuu-chah-nulth cultural and language advisors. Institutional partners for the exhibition are the Alberni Valley Museum, The Bateman Foundation, the University of Victoria and the Royal BC Museum.
Some of the pieces on display at the museum are reproductions of his work, but some are originals from the museum’s collection and the collection of the local Community Arts Council. The pieces were selected to represent his creative years and offer a cross-section of various works he completed between the 1940s and the late 1970s, said Harding.
After Port Alberni, the exhibit will be travelling to galleries in Victoria and Vancouver.
“The Alberni Valley Museum is so honoured to be able to host it in our community,” said Harding.
The exhibit runs at the Alberni Valley Museum until Sept. 2. The museum is open from Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (open until 8 p.m. on Thursdays).
elena.rardon@albernivalleynews.com
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