The exhibition of aboriginal artifacts at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM), in Washington State, USA, is startling – for many reasons.
One: It’s incredibly extensive.
Two: It’s beautiful, well-presented, entrancing and a touch mystical.
Three: Roughly 19 out of every 20 pieces are from British Columbia, Canada.
I had the pleasure of seeing the exhibit for the first time last week. It may be the best exhibition of Pacific Northwest aboriginal art that I have ever seen. (The Seattle Art Museum is, in general, quite spectacular and well worth a visit from Canadians.) And, as mentioned, the aboriginal artifacts are almost entirely from Canada.
There must be quite the story behind how such a collection came into American hands. I wonder if anyone has ever written it?
Many Canadian journalists, including me, have put together articles about the controversies involved when tribal groups in Canada seek to repatriate ancestral artifacts.
But it seems the room for cultural tension grows even stronger when the artifacts are taken out of the country. Many of SAM’s donated artifacts came from John Hauberg, an Illinois collector from the early 1900s. A quick Internet search of his name suggests his famed collections have not been subject to repatriation claims from Canadian aboriginals. There is, however, a coffee-table book about his collection, titled The Spirit Within. (I’d appreciate hearing from readers if they know the backstory on how he gathered them.)
Here is some background on the pieces shown in these photos. The exhibition says some, including the one in the feature photo, are “Nanox” masks, particularly from the Tsimshian and Nuxalx aboriginals of the West Coast of Canada.
“Nanox are spirit beings who are personified with masks that are illustrative of their names and can include animals, monsters and human characters, sometimes with undesirable personality traits,” says the display. “Some documented examples of nanox names include: “Person of the heavens,” “Owl” and “Giant.”