Art Windsor-Essex respectfully acknowledges that we are located on Anishinaabe Territory – the traditional territory of the Three Fires Confederacy of First Nations, comprised of the Ojibway, the Odawa, and the Potawatomi. Today the Anishinaabe of the Three Fires Confederacy are represented by Bkejwanong. We want to state our respect for the ancestral and ongoing authority of Walpole Island First Nation over its Territory.
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Uumajut: Permanent Collection Works
July 30, 2011 - September 4, 2011
Third Floor Street
Juanisialu Irqumia, Hunters and Polar Bear, ca. 1965, soapstone, 58.0 cm x 69.0 cm, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Donaldson, 1969
“From our ancestors we were always told to respect the land… What you do to the land, the land will do to you.” – Mariano Aupilardjuk, Rankin Inlet
Uumajut: Selections from the Permanent Collection pulls from the AGW’s extensive historical archives of Inuit works and highlights those pieces concerned with the notion of Uumajut or ‘the animal spirit.” These prints, drawings and sculptures present the Inuit artists sensitivity to the natural world and reflects their intrinsic sense of understanding for both the form and essence of their subject matter. The spiritual beliefs of the Inuit and Cape Dorset peoples pervade every aspect of their culture and connect themselves time and time again to the land and its creatures. The Avatittinnik Kamatsiarniq or the Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit principle of environmental stewardship emphasizes this key relationship between people and the natural world. The Inuit and Cape Dorset people have lived sustainably by showing respect and care for the land, animals and environment and from an early age, children are expected to articulate respect for this mutually interdependent relationship and to demonstrate responsible behaviors that seek to improve and protect the relationship in ways that meet global challenges to environmental wellness. To help incorporate the Inuit system of beliefs, values and principles into Canadian policy and law, the Canadian Department of Environment has established an Elders Advisory Committee whose task is to advise the Minister of Environment on matters relating to wildlife and environmental stewardship.