June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day

June 21, 2022, marks the 26th anniversary of National Indigenous Peoples Day. This is a day to celebrate the heritage, diverse cultures and outstanding achievements of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.

To honour the day, we invited our gallery members to showcase some of the talented Indigenous artists they represent and highlight their outstanding pieces. For many of these artists, traditional teachings and culture play a large part of their artwork.

View all the spotlights on our Facebook or Instagram pages and scroll through the gallery below.

Corrina Wollf is a Métis (Fisher Branch Manitoba and Red River Settlement) and Mennonite woman represented by The Gallery / art placement, inc. Wollf’s current work explores identity, culture, and place using beads, natural materials, photography, and performance.

 View more of Corrina Wollf’s work here and read the full post on Instagram.

Geanna Dunbar is a Cree/Métis freelance artist that works in several medias in addition to body modifications such as cultural markings, machine tattooing, and body piercing.

“I want my work to challenge traditional ideals and make the viewer think beyond what they are taught or told.”⁠ - Geanna Dunbar

Dunbar’s works can be found at The Woods Art Space. Read the full post on Instagram.

Ray Keighley is a Cree/Métis artist who was born and raised in the foothills of Alberta and has family roots on the Sucker River Reserve north of Lac La Ronge, Saskatchewan. Keighley’s work varies from realism to a more abstract, conceptual practice. He has extensive experience as a painter and printmaker. Keighley now lives and works in Warman and his artwork can be found at Collector’s Choice Art Gallery.

View more of Ray Keighley’s work here and read the full post Instagram.

Julie Francella or Ogichida Waawaaeshi’kwe (Deer Woman) as given to her by her First Nations Elders, is a multi-disciplinary Ojibway artist, as well as a mental health counselor and advocate. Creative endeavours have always been her passion. Her work speaks to the relationship between Indigenous peoples are the reality of the world they live in. Her message often speaks to the idea that we are all connected. Francella is represented by Traditions Hand Craft Gallery.

View more of Julie Francella’s work here and read the full post on Instagram.

Katherine Boyer (Métis/Settler) is a multidisciplinary artist, whose work is focused on methods bound to textile arts and the handmade - primarily woodworking and beadwork.  Boyer’s art and research encompasses personal family narratives, entwined with Métis history, material culture, architectural spaces (human made and natural). Boyer’s work is available at Slate Fine Art Gallery.

View more of Katherine Boyer’s work here and read the full post on Instagram.

Raised in Northern Ontario and Northern Saskatchewan (Uranium City area), Donna Lee Dumont is a painter, educator and storyteller. Drawing and painting have been part of Donna Lee’s life since she was young, and she has always loved colour, shapes, textures and stories of the past. Her new paintings are a natural progression of this passion. She is intrigued by her spirituality of diverse cultures and expresses this realization through paint.⁠ Dumont’s work is available at Black Spruce Gallery.

View more of Donna Lee Dumont’s work here and read the full post on Instagram.

Donna Langhorne, or as she professionally self-identifies, “Donna the Strange”, shows her work at Nouveau Gallery. She is member of Fishing Lake First Nation and lifelong resident of Air Ronge, Saskatchewan, with a Anishinaabe [Plains Ojibway] heritage.  Donna has been working in Northern Saskatchewan as a self-taught professional artist since 2010.

“I have many inspirations, Norval Morrisseau the father and founder of The Anishinaabe woodland Art, Tim Burton, and my family. I live, and breath for my art, and a part of me is in every single one of my paintings. I give them my all and it shows.” - Donna Langhorne

See more of Donna Langhore’s work here and read the full post on Instagram.

Melanie Monique Rose is a fibre and visual artist from Regina, Saskatchewan, Treaty 4 Territory, represented by Assiniboia Gallery. She attended the Kootenay School of the Arts in Nelson, BC and majored in Fibre Arts. Since then, Rose has exhibited her work in solo and group exhibitions nationally. The Flower People is an ongoing theme for Rose, derived from the name "The Flower Beadwork People," a name given to the Métis who are well known for their floral beadwork.

Learn more about Melanie Monique Rose here and read the full post on Instagram.