Birchbark canoe artwork hangs in new art gallery

Gelineau Fisher’s uniquely painted birchbark canoe is the work of his whole family, not just himself.
“I always thought about building that canoe, ever since I was small,” said the Anishinabe artist originally from Long Lake #58 who now lives in Longlac. “My little (grandson) came along and helped me out. A little guy like that can do a lot of things – it’s really amazing. One day I hope he does the same thing.”
Fisher’s grandson gathered the spruce roots and other smaller materials for the canoe while some young men helped gather some of the heavier materials.
“I can’t walk in the bush anymore,” he said. “The rest I did, the easier work, assembling it.”
Fisher’s canoe is featured at the recently opened Local Colour Art Gallery on Cumberland Street in Thunder Bay. It hangs from the ceiling in the section of the gallery Ahnisnabae Art Gallery owner Louise Thomas rents to promote some of the artists she represents in her own art gallery.
“I copied off my grandfather,” Fisher said, explaining his grandfather taught him and his siblings how to make birch bark canoes from a safe distance away when they were young.
“All in all it is in our blood so we learned no matter how far away. That is how I see it today,” he said.
The Local Colour Art Gallery currently features the work of about 70 local artists, including former Nishnawbe Aski Nation deputy grand chief Goyce Kakegamic, with space rented out at $50 per month for a four-by-eight-foot section of wall space.
“There is no commission,” said Vern Robinson, a curator with the gallery.
Fisher said his artwork on a birch bark canoe is unique as far as he knows.
“I’ve never seen anything like that so I tried it out,” Fisher said. “I enjoy looking at it today (more) than even when it was first made.”
Fisher said the paintings on the canoe depict the water, air, land and fire.
“The little fancy part on the back is a medicine wheel,” Fisher said. “This is what we believe in. The medicines were given to us as a gift.”
Fisher described the image of the sun on the front of the canoe as “the life giver.”
Fisher grew up on the land about 20 miles north of Long Lake #58, and has been involved with art since he was young.
“It was just scribbling and doodling,” Fisher said. “If you can make the smallest painting, if you can achieve that you can achieve the biggest one.
“I kept on going with ink pens, pencil work, a sharp knife on a sheet of plywood cutting out images and on the sand making an image.”
Fisher tries to promote the balance of life in his art.
“I wish people would listen with their heart more.”