Title: I am Anishanabe. Size: 48 x 72 inches
Good morning to each and everyone and like the title of the article says we are going to do a deep dive into the very fabric of the woodland art form and all of its triumphs and struggles and disasters. I’ve been privy to meeting just about everyone who does this art form in one way or another from the first generation to this current 5th generation. It’s been for the most part a very profound journey and experience and I’ve had the honour of mentoring dozens and dozens along the way. Like I mentioned I’m now 52 years old and have now hit the 40 year mark of being one of the top and highly sought after artists in this genre, the woodland school. When talking about the real fundamentals and techniques in the style from each generation to the next, I’d say many who know what’s up would say that I have one of the best eyes in it with perhaps the deepest and greatest knowledge base about it on the planet. Not saying any of that to boast, it’s just the reality and facts of being so involved with it for the last 40 years now.
The woodland art form intrigued me right away when I was 12 years old in Hudson Ont. I was already drawing at that point but when I saw this native woodland painting that my dad gave his mom, my grandmother, it blew me away. I loved it. That you can see inside the animals. With fierce colours and inner details. I still remember it today, it was of an Indian man in his canoe with a bow and arrow hunting a moose in the bog of a small lake. Northwestern Ontario. My home lands. The very place I was born and raised. It impacted me that my dad would give his mom something so cool. I fell in love with the art form that very day. From that moment on I’ve been on one of the most profound journeys of being a true artist ever since. I love this art. I love as much as I love life itself. Growing up in alcoholism and seeing lots of violence as a child, this art gave me a new life. A new way to see the world. A new way to identify and to seek understanding in my indigenous identity. To reconcile within me these 2 very opposing lifestyles. My search for my culture and the healing from colonialism. That my very life experience at that time was to heal from these wounds and to try and put the pieces back together of this broken identity. Obviously at that time I didn’t fully understand the root causes of that brokenness which of course I now know to be the effects of genocide and assimilation. Super devastating to try and fuck up a race of people like that.
I know there are tens of thousands who can relate with me about this reality and the challenges of trying to recover from this each and everyday. So yes, the art form has been instrumental for helping me to bridge the gap. As someone who is both native and white it has been a sort of walking in 2 worlds at the same time so to speak. I’ve been coming to terms with that my whole life and the real spirit of this art gave me this opportunity to put it all back together. Me. You. Us. The whole thing. Going through the good, the bad and the ugly. Like a true experiencer of life. Not afraid to dive deep into the ocean. To see things as they really are. In their true light regardless of how dark. And so it has been ever since. The hunt for knowledge and truth. Nature itself is like that. It’s honest. There’s no fuckin around. I respect that. It humbles me to tell you the truth. We learn so much about ourselves in the solitude of nature spirit. About her, Mother Earth and creation upon her. The vastness of wisdom from every generation unto the next. All of it. Meaningful. Masterful. The living beingness of it all. The true foundation and spirit of the woodland school of art.
Not just traditional but also modern and contemporary. Even diving into the very future and contemplating worlds never before seen. Done in greater creative spirit and visualization, a truly new and advanced evolution as we now see in what for me is most definitely the next level in the entire art form with my new genre in Woodland A.I. It’s absolutely fascinating and for me to be a living witness to all 5 generations and seeing what’s out there, I know what I’m doing is the next level. I’ll always appreciate woodland art for the most part and I’ll be clear cut and honest about my thoughts and experiences of what I’ve learned and gone through. I must because I know that there is no one really keeping an eye on it as I am. I will continue to do so because after all it’s the right thing to do. I would say I am like a knowledge keeper of the entire woodland school. I’m 3rd generation, so I’ve got a very keen eye on the insides and outs. The who’s who and many of the up and comers along with some who are rotten bad apples. Culture vultures and unfortunately there are plenty to name and I’ll name some here no question about that. This is like an inventory of the woodland school, an examination of the stock in trade. What’s good, what’s promising and what is ass backwards and is totally fucked up.
For me first and foremost I’d like to pay tribute to some of my all time favourites. Artists in whom I’ve always looked up to and admired in the woodland school of art or also known as Anishanabe art (in the words of the master Roy Thomas). I suppose I’ll start with Roy because after all it was he who was and who will always be, my chief mentor. The first woodland artist to ever interact with me. To actually spend some of his time with me to teach and instruct me on some of the fundamentals. That’s where I first learned how to actually hold the paintbrush right. That’s where I learned the fine art of clean line work and inlay detail. Roy had always said that I was a true natural. I had my own developing style and to stay original in that. He mentioned how this would be my own style in the art. I love that. That I could have my own voice in how I choose to develop. Like building my own designs and stories through learning from our past, present and future.
To find my voice through each new painting. And that’s exactly how it’s gone down ever since. Working with him for a brief time during my teenage period was indeed helping to lay down the foundation that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. To no doubt become one of the best to ever do it. To challenge myself and the greatness of others.And do it right. From a good place. Even when fighting darkness. Using the light, the spirit of the art to guide me through. I found sobriety for the last 26 years of my life. Like my mentor in Roy, I found my way out. I’m forever grateful. The next great master who surpassed many before him was and still is Saul Williams. He’s next level. A true living legend and he probably doesn’t even care much about that. But true masters in the woodland school know full well that Saul is no doubt one of the greatest to ever do it. 
Others that I find in legendary category and status are Carl Ray, Jackson Beardy, Blake Debassige, Gelineau Fisher, Cecil Youngfox, Joshim Kakegamic, Brian Marion, Moses Amik Beaver, Jimi Oskineegish, Lloyd Kakepetum, David Williams, Leland Bell, Randy Trudeau, James Jacko, Gordon Fiddler, Rocky Fiddler, Roy Kakegamic and others from both the Kakepetum and Kakegamic clans with honourable mention to both Daphne Odjig and Arthur Shilling as personal favourites.
Over the last 75 years this art form has gone through many different transitions both absolutely phenomenal to horrifically pathetic. From true indigenous practitioners to white settler cultural appropriators who think they’re entitled to do so because it’s such a universal thing that anyone can do it. Not true to many of us who are actually native and try to practice our very culture through the art form. There’s something very weird about a white colonizer who thinks its god almighty ok to culturally appropriate from those poor Indians. They think it’s perfectly fine to financially prosper from someone else’s culture that they themselves, don’t even practice. That’s super weird in my view. It’s like taking up the space and place for indigenous artists to shine and grow, to prosper in the richness of our culture and in ways of Providing support for our families. Most in whom are all recovering from the effects of genocide and assimilation. The road for us First Nations is a 2 different worlds approach and experience. The Creator gave each culture and the races of mankind their own stories and teachings. Each their own historical and cultural approach. Something unique and different from all places upon the earth.
The fundamentals of my culture are of course about welcoming and being a loving spirit. But also to stand up and be the warrior for truth, justice and honour. These are important teachings regarding authenticity and self truth. Knowing who you truly are and where you exactly come from. There is great importance for me regarding this as I often say you cannot know who you are unless to learn and understand where you come from. It’s true. Often we are taught in this world to be anything or anyone you want to be. The world media and social engineering tactics often projects these bizarre and twisted ideas of being some weird version of something else. Just not you, lord forbid. Lol…
I take the good with the bad. You have to nowadays. The reality is there are only 2 versions of reality going on here. One version is the truth, the other is the lie, the illusion. Choice is a beautiful thing and it can also be a curse. Like I see in many situations throughout the woodland school of art. There are many who live in the lie. Those who live in the false knowledge of life, of a fake reality. A form of mental insanity and denial. A lesser vibration and light. A state of weakness and fear. Because sooner or later the truth comes and hits the world like a freight train. Like it always has and like it always will. It’s the very nature of truth, hard and bitter and sometimes very difficult to digest.
I have journeyed farther into the depths of the woodland school than any other artist before me. There is literally no one who even comes close. The knowledge level is different with me because I’m not afraid to go all the way right unto the end. To see the whole thing both in its beauty and ugliness. To truly understand the energy of this art movement one has to live it. Practice it. Struggle in it, master it, be a student in it, find new ways of exploration and innovation without being servile or scraping. We’ll get into that now.
Most definitely one of the greatest upsets and discoveries was learning that Norval Morrisseau was indeed a sexual abuser, a predator. The fact that him and his gay handler in Gabe Vadas insulted me to such a level by trying to sexually touch my ass without my permission and in the wake and fall out of that, completely destroyed my love and appreciation for him, in Norval. For his art, his legacy, all the work I dedicated to that, all done in vein. In my hidden shame and embarrassment that for years, I had done something wrong. That I didn’t cooperate with their sick and twisted sexual agenda. To steal from me, my self worth and confidence, to embarrass my soul in such a way and to offend me in such a fuckin gross manner, it’s despicable. To plant that ugliness on me and to shame my spirit for just being my true and authentic self, a lovin dude that felt so honoured to be hanging out with Norval Morrisseau. The so-called grand shaman of the Anishanabe. Imagine that? In a fuckin wheelchair tooboot.
Fuckin grossed me out and still to this day affects me. Like a cold and shitty memory of someone I thought was a cultural icon, a hero to my people. A living legend only to turn out like like P Diddy puff Gabe, trying to get a freak off. It’s really that pathetic and gross. That whole thing and experience destroyed any love I had left after the whole art fraud investigation. After exposing Lamont for the total piece of shit he was and will always be, it was and will always be a shattering reality of who Morrisseau was. Not only that, but I have absolutely solid witnesses who can testify to everything I’ve said. Forever going forward I will continue to share and expose these unsettling truths. I 100% believe that it’s absolutely nuts to prop up sexual abusers of children as cultural hero’s or icons. This is a major problem with regard to the cultural fabric of this country and it is with my whole heart and soul that this will change. I believe in real truth and reconciliation but before the reconciliation part happens, we must examine and bring forth the truth. This is how it’s going down. This is the will of our Creator.. Of our ancestors. And so it shall be…
Like I mentioned I’ve seen a lot of the good, the bad and the ugly throughout the woodland school. Let’s open the door on the list of known cultural appropriators and who they are. I don’t give 2 shits what the pedophile shaman told you in Morrisseau. For me, that shit is obsolete. Done. Toast. Bye bye. Night night. What he’s ever said is dead. I don’t trust in any of that no more. As we say “the delusion has been smashed”.
White cultural appropriators in our woodland school of art:
1: Ritchie Sinclair (non native Morrisseau apprentice)
2: Vasil woodland (European artist and appropriator)
3: Gabe Vadas (thinks he’s an actual Indian/Morrisseau art apprentice)
4: Daniel Pitchegigwaneh (claimed to be Morrisseau’s long lost son)
5: Karl Burrows (I even like the guy) still appropriation
6: Mike Ormsby (fake pretendian paints in woodland)
7: Zhaawano Giizhik (exposed as a fraud by ex girlfriend Simone McLeod)
8: James McCue (former apprentice to Morrisseau) appropriator
9: Amanda PL (young white female) cultural appropriator
This gives a general overview of what to watch out for out there. None of it is authentic or any of that a true reflection of our culture through art. It’s weird is what it is. It’s cultural appropriation. They should look into their European history and find out what that means through their artistic expression. Focus on that. Find out where you come from and in that, who you are. Make sense? Exactly.
This list is of what I call: THE WOODLAND WEEN-NUKS
At some point or another, these artists either got super weird with me or turned on me like a rattle snake. These poor chaps have lost their way. Those who only cared about themselves, their own plans and desires…it’ll be shocking for many of them on what comes next.
1: Norval Morrisseau (we already know why)
2: Wolf Morrisseau (heavily involved in the fraud)
3: Christian Morrisseau (heavily involved in the fraud)
4: Unfortunately David Morrisseau (majorly involved in the art fraud)
5: Eugene Morrisseau (involved in the fraud)
6: Benjamin Morrisseau (heavily involved in the fraud)
7: Bruce Morrisseau (involved in the fraud he confessed it)
8: Jason Adair (steals my designs without permission)
9: Flake Angeconob (tried to help him I warned him about the stupidity of woodland pop)
10: Jackie Traverse (tried helping her career ended up getting weird)
11: Tom Tom Sinclair and his ol lady (got right fuckin weird even super ugly….yikes)
12: Patrick Paul (tried to help him, ended up being a weirdo)
13: Kurtis Staven (a pretendian I met in the Kootenay’s a real piece of shit of a human being)
I will also share who broke my heart and I had to choose to distance myself from them because they broke my trust. It’s sad that at the end of all of this it came to this. But this is my experience. This is my truth. This is my story and even though it has come to that, I have to share what’s in my heart. I have to be transparent and honest. I think it will help to finally bring some closure.
1: John Zemanovich (sorry it didn’t work out, that we couldn’t find a way to heal. I tried…)
2: Kevin Hearn (sorry I had to let you go I hope you can now understand)
3: Jonathan Sommer (sorry it didn’t work out I tried being your friend. It just got fucked up)
4: Cory Dingle (unfortunately? You fucked with the wrong Indian. My hope for you in the future is that you’ll genuinely apologize to me when your heart and soul is ready. You forced my soul to act and stand up. There will be more to come….so stay tuned, guy.)
On that note this brief synopsis of some of the highs and lows during my career should give you a rough idea as to the type of terrain I’ve had to walk through, navigate and deal with. Unfortunately not everyone you meet works out. Most of the time we are learning difficult lessons which sometimes puts us in the crosshairs of each other. Passion for the truth and a steadfast belief in justice will do that to you. I come to correct the lies and to stand up as a survivor of abuse that should have never ever happened to me. Things are going to change and I’m choosing to stand up for my own sense of justice. For my own story and the truth that lays within it. Indeed there will be much more to come. All my relations.
Rainbow Thunderbird - MAJ 🌈🦅🌈
A special shout out to this guy. The one who made it all happen in Dallas Thompson. My true brother who remained until the very end. The only one…
FROM HERE ON IN….I AM THE FUTURE. I AM WOODLAND A.I. ⚡️👽⚡️
