NOKOMIS
Heritage
- Ojibwa
My name is Nokomis. I'm an Ojibwa artist and
storyteller who grew up in the bush almost seventy
years ago. The literal translation of my name means
"the great mother" for Nokomis was the spirit who
created the Ojibwa in the world. In another context
the word can mean grandmother. The name was given to
me by my elders at a naming ceremony when it was
apparent to them who I would be in this lifetime.
I've always been a storyteller but I haven't always
been an artist. The world of Canadian native art
would have passed me by if it hadn't occurred to me
one day that a good story might be even better if it
had a good picture to illustrate the point. I
haven't had any training in the area of art. My work
is sort of naive. But what the heck - it's my life
and I get to paint it any way I please!
I paint what life was like in the Northern Ontario
bush almost sixty years ago. With no running water
or electricity, day to day activities were most
often focused on providing life’s necessities.
Although from late twentieth century urban eyes the
lifestyle looks tough, it was just life. It provided
all the opportunities to learn what each of us must
come to terms with before peace (our own and the
world’s) is possible - that relationships are what
life is about and the rest of our activities are
filler.
My imagery is as naïve and simple as my philosophy.
Even the colours I use are seldom complex. Each
painting is a narrative, a brief moment in time that
captures real people going about their lives.
Viewers often relate in a personal way to the
paintings and I think it’s because they see
themselves. They see the humanity of what it is to
be native, not the weird stories.
My message is simply that you’ve had your life I’ve
had mine – it’s only been the props that
occasionally have been different.
For too long, I've been travelling back and forth
across the country showing my pictures and telling
stories but age has caught up with me. I've decided
that it's finally time to learn how to be a techie
so that I can sit on my duff and spread the word
about Canadian native art through this world wide
web thing. Who woulda thunk that being a techie is
almost as easy as being an artist. It's just a
matter of telling some more stories.