Duality of Symbols – 30th November, 2016

          I listened to Misao Dean’s interview with CBC Radio regarding the canoe as a symbol of both Canadian pride and its history of genocide. In it, she notes many of these people who so highly revere the canoe come from privileged upbringings. “Certainly the majority of wilderness canoers are people who have a very privileged place in society … They are almost completely white,” she states (Dean). This struck me as very eye-opening. As a person of colour, I have always been attuned to the privileged that white people have in our world. Yet, it has never struck me how much influence that one nation has on crafting an entire nation’s identity. Indeed, the Group of Seven’s company consists entirely of like-minded, privileged white men. They have shaped the very foundation of Canadian art. Emily Carr, for example, was inspired by them to begin her own journey into Canadian Landscape painting. Why is this important for me? Well, as someone who is not white and not Canadian, I have experienced this country through a very much tinted lens. I know, for example, of First Nations relations mostly through my white friends. The true history of this country is obscured and molded a little bit to fit a certain bias. So when we see a painting by the Group of Seven, it is seen as the quintessence of Canadian art and therefore we want to hang them up on our walls and put them on calendars. Likewise, Dr. Dean’s interview communicates the importance of understanding the duality of the symbol of the canoe. She reminds us that there are always two sides of the coin. Yes, the Group of Seven introduced a unique style of Canadian art, but in a way, in doing so, they also obscured names of indigenous artists, artists of colour, and even non-landscape artists from the contemporary Canadian canon. I know I am not able to name any other famous Canadian artists other than Emily Carr.