HOME > Museum > Special Exhibitions > Voices from the Land, Visions of Life: Beauty Created by the Indigenous Peoples of Canada

September 10 (Thursday)-December 8 (Tuesday), 2009

TOP / EXHIBITION OVERVIEW / RELATED EVENT

Part 1: “The First Peoples of Canada: Masterpiece Collections from the Canadian Museum of Civilization”

Expressions of the Spirit

The Canadian Museum of Civilization

In Canada's diverse natural environments, a variety of cultures have arisen throughout history. Around 200 archaeological artifacts that are prized by the Canadian Museum of Civilization, from stoneware and earthenware to beautiful garments and ceremonial masks, will be exhibited for the first time in Japan. Visitors will be able to enjoy the expressive power and aesthetic sensitivity that reflect the world view of these indigenous peoples.

This traveling exhibition of the Canadian Museum of Civilization divides Canada into four cultural regions, and displays representative artifacts from each.

Culture of the Indigenous Peoples of the Great Plains: The Bison People (artifacts such as beaded moccasins, harnesses, and clothing are on display)

: A child's pair of moccasins from the indigenous people of the Plains
(The Canadian Museum of Civilization Collection)

Culture of the Indigenous Peoples of the Eastern Woodlands: Agriculturalists living around the Great Lakes (artifacts include pendants, knives, earthenware, pipes, canoes, and clothing)

: Iroquois pipe, from the indigenous people of the Great Lakes area, 500-600 years old (The Canadian Museum of Civilization Collection)

: Small talisman in the shape of a carved turtle figurine from the indigenous people of the Great Lakes area, excavated in Ottawa Valley (The Canadian Museum of Civilization Collection)

Culture of the Indigenous Peoples of the Northwest Coast:: The Salmon and Potlatch Peoples (artifacts include head ornaments, wooden boxes, blankets, knives, spoons, masks, rattles, and fishhooks)

: Head ornament from the indigenous people of the Northwest Coast (The Canadian Museum of Civilization Collection)

: Spoon from the indigenous people of the Northwest Coast, made from the horn of a bighorn sheep and carved in the shape of a raven (The Canadian Museum of Civilization Collection)
: Wooden box from the indigenous people of the Northwest Coast (The Canadian Museum of Civilization Collection)

Culture of the Indigenous Peoples of the Far North and Sub Polar Regions:: Hunters in the Far North (artifacts include carvings of walrus ivory, snow-goggles, clothing, boots, and hunting tools)

: Inuit snow-goggles carved from a walrus tusk (The Canadian Museum of Civilization Collection)
: Inuit fishing-float made of sealskin (The Canadian Museum of Civilization Collection)

: Inuit woman's upper garment decorated with beads (The Canadian Museum of Civilization Collection)

Part 2: “Photographs and Videos of the Northwest Coast and Far North Regions of Canada”

“Understanding the Relationship between People and Nature: Reflecting on Environment and Lifestyle”

Canada encompasses a range of extremely disparate natural environments including the freezing tundra of the far north, the temperate forests of the northwest coast, the prairies that extend as far as the eye can see, and the expanses of coniferous forest in the subarctic region. Through photographs, video footage and other media, this exhibition will show these diverse natural environments and scenes from the lives of those who live there, conveying the environmental problems confronting Canada's wilderness and social change in its indigenous communities.

Photographs of the Northwest Coast regions

An exhibition of compelling photographs of nature, animals, and people of the Northwest Coast regions taken recently by photographer AKASA Tomoaki

Photographs of the Far North regions

An exhibition of photographs of Canadian Inuit life and nature taken in the 1960s by HONDA Katsuichi and FUJIKI Takamine, alongside photographs of the same peoples' lives and environment taken in 2008 by TAKEDA Tsuyoshi. The exhibition shows changes in society and the environment over the last half century in the Far North regions.

Part 3: “Beauty of the Culture of the Indigenous Peoples of the Northwest Coast and Far North Regions in Canada”

The Art of the Inuit and other Indigenous Peoples of the Northwest Coast from Minpaku's Own Collection

From around 1960 the Inuit, formerly known as the Eskimo, and the other indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast have through prints and carvings portrayed their world view and society, the wildlife and animals that surround them, nature and other subjects, giving birth to original works rich in artistry. In them, along with their astonishing originality and variation, we can also identify pervasive ingrained commonalities, such as motifs dealing with the relationships between human beings and animals. This glimpse at various structures, attire and accessories, folk crafts and other objects and scenes displayed together allows us to fully witness the superb artistry present in their artworks and other objects from these two regions.

The Artistic World of the Inuit

Along with prints, which the Inuit have been producing since the late 1950s, the exhibition will feature stone carvings, hunting tools and other items. Inuit prints came to be produced after the printing techniques and systems used for Japan's ukiyoe prints were introduced into their communities.

: Shore in the Far North (Photo: KISHIGAMI Nobuhiro)

: Inuit hunters (Photo: KISHIGAMI Nobuhiro)

The Artistic World of the Indigenous Peoples of the Northwest Coast

An exhibition of wooden boxes and masks, along with print making from the indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast that began in the 1960s.

: Haida people's cloaks with family crests (Old Masset, 2006)
(Photo: KISHIGAMI Nobuhiro)

: Haida Potlatch in Old Masset (2006) (Photo: KISHIGAMI Nobuhiro)

: Raising a totem pole (2006) (Photo: KISHIGAMI Nobuhiro)