As Norval would so often say, may the blessings be. So, I’ll begin by explaining how John Zemanovich found me and became my apprentice for over 10 years in the woodland school of art. I’ll also explain our involvement in the investigations of the Norval Morrisseau art fraud. At the end of the day, he did become my right hand man. But then over time, things began to change.
I first met this guy around 2006 - 2007. He came to me through an email asking questions about the art fraud regarding Norval Morrisseau. He came to me as a fraud, as a fake identity in his former inter net name of raven Thunderbird. A made up name he gave himself to protect his real identity in John Zemanovich. The audacity of this small time Morrisseau researcher even had the nerve of suspecting me as a forger knowing that I was a great artist and all.
Because he came to me as a liar, I felt the need to correct him which of course, I did. I told him right off the hop that he’d better straighten his bullshit out and make the approach with me through being honest and transparent. Something he recognized that if he wanted to be my friend, he would have to make some serious adjustments.
The problems I discovered when I began to learn more about him were indeed, plenty. He was the one who before meeting me, was working with the Morrisseau children and was the brainchild behind the concept of the Morrisseau family foundation. It was John Zemanovich who created that. He was working with the kids and jim white around the time when we first met. Then he was working with gabe and michelle Vadas of the Norval Morrisseau estate. (Minus the Morrisseau children at that time)
Pictured above: John Zemanovich and Gabe Vadas with me in Nanaimo B.C. This is what betrayal looks like, pretend friends they were.
When I began to learn more about him I discovered that underneath the exterior of this raven Thunderbird false name and identity was a broken, weak and fragile soul. He knew nothing of his true First Nations identity. He didn’t even know how to hold a paint brush let alone how to stand as an indigenous man in this world we live in. I brought him that. During my time with him under my wing as a new apprentice I brought him to my home town of Sioux Lookout Ontario. He sat with my family and uncles who are all medicine men around our family drum.
It was there that he began to find himself. We gave him his “indian name” we gave him his clan and he was gifted a Thunderbird pipe. This event helped to put the pieces together for him much better as now he was identified in the spirit world, the ancestors could truly recognize him now, he could know himself better as an Indian. But over time, his loyalty began to shift and change. He began to fall into the shadows once again with his self deceptions and what began to manifest as a drug problem with regards to his pain medication.
But it was in the practice of the art form itself that would help to stabilize and give hope to his real identity and sense of self. Once again, I brought him that. He had zero experience and confidence as a new artist. But in working with me, I definitely helped to encourage and strengthen that part of his development as an artist. Nobody else could at this point. It took my power and energy and belief in him to push him forward in this new and exciting direction.
Pictured above: 2 examples of early works by John Zemanovich. Painting of me on the left, a painting of Gabe Vadas on the right
During this time we worked together, comforted one another, learned from each other, became good friends and embarked upon our journey as master artist in myself and as a new apprentice to me in John Zemanovich. We continued our investigations around the fraud of Norval Morrisseau and supported one another as best we could as we discovered the rest of the pieces of this Morrisseau puzzle.
Pictured above: 2 examples of works I did with my former apprentice in John Zemanovich
During the tail end of our investigations John was working closely with jonathan sommer and kevin hearn. He befriended them and during that course John was specifically instructed by this small time lawyer not to converse with me about some of the information around the art fraud investigation. I was offended by that. The only victory these idiots would ever know was what I brought to the table regarding Thunder Bay, Gary lamont, Dallas Thompson, Tim Tait, and the truth of those Morrisseau children being heavily involved in the fraud of their father, Norval Morrisseau.
None of that happened on their own accord. Remember that at this time Jonathan Sommer was losing every single court case he was up against. I mean, the other side really had this guys number. He was beaten numerous times in court because quite frankly, the Ontario court system was an utter failure including all police forces across this country. Nobody could solve this at the time. Fuckin nobody.
In reality, I put that together and the entire team at the time knew this. Although they’ve all had a difficult time in acknowledging that. Mostly because of their own inept capacity to truly get anything done. I understood though that this thing was bigger than any of us, personally. The amount of people involved in these discoveries is quite staggering. Yet none of them could get the job done. Over these last few years I’ve watched those mentioned above trying to control this narrative including that douche bag director in Jamie kastner, a real dirty snake in the Canadian film industry, a true rat.
Poster for movie created and painted by: John Zemanovich
It was during this time around the film of “There are no fakes” that we all began to go our individual ways. I took a break for the last 4 years. All the betrayal, lies and bullshit around this movie was truly the tipping point for me to walk away. I had simply had enough of the stupidity around Norval Morrisseau’s legacy.
The friendship between John Zemanovich and I began to fade away. I had borrowed some money from him on the condition that we would arrange to pay it off through the sales of some of my paintings. This was when he decided to open his new gallery with his OPP police officer wife in Kimm Horne, another soul who impatiently betrayed me at their new gallery found here at:
https://ravenartcanada.com/
During this sequence of events I discovered that while they didn’t want to solve the problem with me because of their financial reasonings, they chose to sell the paintings I gave them worth thousands and thousands of dollars. They essentially “sold me out”. They had promised to make me their number one artist, etc and ended up betraying me instead. After everything I did for them and more importantly for John Zemanovich, he ended up selling me out and tossing our friendship to the curb.
Recently I tried to reach out to make a reconnection and hopefully amend the situation between us but I got nothing. Just a cold and dead response. Oh well, that is their choice, that is their weakness. Sometimes I feel like I let that happen to me when I deserved better, especially after everything I did to help that man and his family come to terms with their “indianess”.
Pictured above: a Morrisseau replica of Pisces princess. Painted by John Zemanovich
I challenged John Zemanovich to paint this painting as he thought he could never do it. He gave it to me as my apprentice. I thought about throwing away this painting in the garbage since our falling out but my new apprentice said to keep it. Let it be a reminder to you on what betrayal looks like. That it can come to you in friendship, in apprenticeship and it can look real pretty and all as well.
In the end, I made this guy not only a better person but a better artist. I put some real love, energy and power into him and he forgot where he came from. Remember, he first came to me as a liar, a cheat. He carried multiple identities like raven Thunderbird, John Christopher and now as the exposed John Zemanovich.
Maybe one day he will return as to who he really is, white Thunderbird man, the name my family and relatives gave him that day as he sat with us at our 8 Thunderbird family drum, receiving his true identity from true Indians who brought him into the light of who he really is. But he walked away from that as well. What a sad and cold world he lives in. I feel sorry for him and his family.
I will always wish you the best John. Take care of yourself and your loved ones. I hope that the addiction you are struggling with will some day be solved for you. May your heart and soul find the warmth and love it deserves. May the Creator continue to help you along this journey of life. All my relations....MAJ
