Question
Emily
Carr: the environment and the First Nations of Canada
Over the years, Canada has been seen as a
majestic, serene place; but in recent years this stereotype has changed. With
pollution from major corporations altering the landscape, and past colonization
with the First Nations, Canada isn’t as beautiful as it once was. At the end of
the Nineteenth Century, an artist by the name of Emily Carr was making her name
in the western art world, painting the Indigenous peoples before they themselves
became part of the past, as a result from the encroachment on their culture,
language, lands and practices. In 1912, Carr set out on a six-week journey to
paint native villages on the British Colombia Coast and in Northern British
Colombia. As a result, two of the themes prevalent in her paintings were
developed; the first theme being the perceptible presence of the Aboriginal
past and second, the landscape of the western coast of Canada. Despite her love
for the Native peoples, Carr herself felt the assimilation of the Natives was
inevitable.
In order to solve these issues relating
to the Indigenous Peoples and the environment, we must ask one basic question. How
have Canada’s policies affected the sites of Emily Carr’s paintings, not only environmentally
but also culturally? When asking this question we must analyze the Canadian
Government’s stance towards the Indigenous peoples, not only during Emily
Carr’s time as an artist, but also how their stance has progressed or regressed
over the last century. In order to solve
the environmental aspect of the question, I will have to analyze the policies
relating to the environment from not only British Colombia, but also other
parts of Canada and apply them to the photographs in order to draw my conclusions.
Significance:
Why
is this research important?
The research aids in bringing awareness
to the audience in four main ways. First, to inform whom Emily Carr was, second,
why she was important, third, how the Canadian Government’s policies have
impacted the landscape and fourth, the issues the Indigenous peoples face today
due to the policies adapted by the Canadian Government. When asking fellow
class mates if they knew who Emily Carr was, all but one answered with a
definite “no” or a “sounds familiar,” my research shows that despite being
educated many do not know or have never heard of Emily Carr. In response to the
second point, while attending a Liberal Arts school I think it is very
important for students to know about, not only premier American Artists, but
also Canadian artists as well. Because of past action (or in this case, no
action at all) pollution is wreaking havoc on the landscape of many Canadian
areas. One of the most widely recognized pollution sites would have to be the
Alberta Tar Sands; with the Canadian Government taking no action, the Tar Sands
have created issues that might never be resolved. Without any other academic
researching the question stated in the introduction, very few actually know
what kind of shape the environment is in at the sites of Carr’s paintings.
Over the last century, the Indigenous
peoples have faced many challenges as a result of colonization. Of the past
problems they faced, many are still prevalent in today’s Indigenous societies.
A majority of the tribes, if not all, have issues with reclaiming the land,
drug and alcohol abuse, problems with revitalizing their culture, and also
trying to find a way to heal the members of the tribes who have faced troubling
situations. When Carr traveled to the Tribal villages to paint them before they
disappeared, many had already been abandoned and were already in the process of
being lost forever. Some of the sort
term and long term impacts the research could accomplish might include,
acculturating the audience to Canadian Art, bringing awareness to the audience
of Canadian policies that have been detrimental to the landscape and the
Indigenous peoples, and to hopefully inspire future generations of both native
and non-native to preserve what is left of their culture and what is left of
the sites Emily Carr Painted. By
traveling to the sites, I plan on showing and analyzing the history and
politics involved that have shaped the landscape to how it appears today.
Background:
What
previous research is there?
In the twenty-first century, Emily Carr
has been the subject of numerous plays, films, poems and books. Despite not
being widely recognized until the ripe age of 57, Emily Carr would go on to be
one of Canada’s premier artists, and is often recognized as the greatest female
artist Canada has ever had. In the articles I gathered many were about the life
of Emily Carr, and gave a brief background to her life; leading me to conclude
that other than researching her life (where she was born, etc.) there hasn’t
been any in-depth studies of this specific question. Although previous work has included looking at
whether Carr gendered the trees she painted in her artwork (Collett,
A., & Jones, D. 2009.)
Some of the articles also go into depth about Carr’s time as a writer, and
finally the research that has been done about Carr and how she painted the
Indigenous Peoples.
Over the years no one has researched the
exact question, but they have done similar projects with the Group of Seven
(another famous band of Canadian Painters). I am making this research question
unique by adding my love of photography and by differing from the norm, and not
writing a research paper. Instead, I plan on holding a show of the photographs
I will shoot at the painting sites, and present my analysis on cards next to
the paintings and the photographs.
Specific
Aims:
Answer
Secondary Questions
The objective of this research is to
compare and contrast the landscape and how it has changed over the years,
looking at a variety of factors including, Canada’s stance towards the
environment, and their stance towards the Indigenous tribes. Although there is
one broad question, other underlying factors will also need to be researched in
order to fully analyze the research question. Some possible secondary questions
that could be researched might range from Carr’s political views to her
involvement with the Canadian Government. Specifically, questioning how did
Carr’s political views change her paintings? If she let her political views
alter her paintings, were they changed in a positive or negative way? What was her
stance on the status of the First Nation Peoples? What were the specific
policies that were in place during her time as a painter? Did she find the
policies acceptable? What was the purpose of Canada’s Environmental policies?
Also, what were they getting out of the policies, and whom were they affecting?
Was she involved with the Canadian Government at all in her life? By looking at
these underlying questions I will be able to conclude if her paintings were
created with a biased lens that is often found in Native art by Non-native
artists.
In order to fully analyze the sites, I
will have to research the history of the sites themselves. As I stated above,
many of the villages she painted were abandoned when she arrived there, what I
will need to find out is how long they had been abandoned, what specific tribe
was living at the village and why were they abandoned in the first place? Was
it a result of the assimilation that went on after European contact or were
there other contributing factors? All of
these questions are important to ask and must be fully researched. After I have
an understanding of these questions and their answer’s my research will
continue by interviewing tribal elders of the specific tribes affected on the
Western Coast, and interview a Professor or historian who has studied Carr’s
life.
Research
Design:
Traveling
to the sites
The research will consist of locating
twenty sites of various Emily Carr paintings, some of which are the same area
but different spots, researching the history of the sites, and eventually going
to take pictures of the sites, depicting how they appear today. Before I am
able to go photograph the sites, the secondary questions stated above must be
answered to fully analyze the environmental and cultural differences between
the paintings and the photographs. Answering the secondary questions will be
accomplished by reading various books either by Carr herself, or other
historians. If not all questions are answered completely, the research will
shift to personal interviews with the tribal elders of the tribes affected by
the policies, environmental historians from British Colombia, and Emily Carr
historians. Once I have all of the questions analyzed and solved, I will need
to travel to the specific sites, shoot both film and digital, develop the
pictures and analyze the pictures to see the differences. To present my
research, I plan on having a showing of the photos I take, with prints of the
paintings next to the picture. Next to
the painting and photograph, there will be a card explaining the differences I
found, which will answer the main puzzle by using the research I collect. In my
research I think I will discover the main purpose of Emily Carr’s paintings and
also that all of the sites have been impacted negatively by Canadian Policy’s.
Summary:
What
am I planning to accomplish?
In the research, I plan on answering one
primary question: how have Canada’s policies affected the sites of Emily Carr’s
paintings, not only environmentally but also culturally? In order to answer
this question I will look at many secondary questions and interview tribal
elders, environmental historians, and historians that hare experienced in
analyzing Emily Carr’s work and who also know a significant amount about Emily
Carr’s life. Once I have answered the questions, I will travel to twenty
various sites of her paintings. When I arrive at the site, I will take
photographs of how they appear today; once I have developed the photographs,
using the secondary questions I will analyze each photograph in order to solve
the question. I will present my research by having a showing of the pictures
with prints of the paintings. The significance of my research includes:
informing the general audience about Emily Carr, how the policies the Canadian
government adapted affected not only the environment but also the Native
Peoples.
1. Friendly cove- http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/cgi-bin/text2html/.visual/img_txt/dir_87/pdp00557.txt?PDP00557
-yuquot, british col.
2. Skagway from End of Wharf - Cold
Wind - Ugh!,
-Skagway Alaska:
http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/cgi-bin/text2html/.visual/img_txt/dir_87/pdp00562.txt?PDP00562
3. RESERVE,
NORTH VANCOUVER- http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/cgi-bin/text2html/.visual/img_txt/dir_87/pdp00656.txt?PDP00656
-The Squamish Nation’s Mission reserve
is located just west of Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver.
4.PAINTERS AND PAINTING- http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/cgi-bin/text2html/.visual/img_txt/dir_87/pdp00648.txt?PDP00648
5. SECHELT
ST. OF GEORGIA: http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/cgi-bin/text2html/.visual/img_txt/dir_87/pdp00827.txt?PDP00827
6:
TANOO, QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLAND
7: Lagoon at Albert Head
8: Skidegate, Haida Gwaii
,Skidigate (sic) Queen Charlotte
Islands
9. ABANDONED VILLAGE, YAN, QUEEN
CHARLOTTE ISLAND,
10. KISPIOX, SKEENA RIVER
11. KISPIOX VILLAGE
12. SITKA, LATER SITKA TRADING CO.
BUILDING
13. Kwakiutl House
14.
The Gwayasdums Village on Gilford Island
15. Cordova Bay
16:
At Seton B.c.
17. Black Mountain, B.C.
18. Beacon hill, Victoria, B.C.
19. Shoreline, 1936, beach at the foot
of Beacon Hill Cliffs with Clover Point in the distance.
20.Blunden Harbour
