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UBC Theses and Dissertations
Western Arctic women artists’ perspectives on education and art McNeal, Joanne Carolyn
Abstract
In the Western Arctic, women from two indigenous cultures, Inuit and Dene, have made art for hundreds of years. Women's art was different from men's, but was essential to the survival of families. Their skills were also used by colonial explorers and traders. Now a third group of women, of European heritage called 'others' or 'non-natives', are also making art in the Western Arctic. Each cultural group has a rich heritage, and where the cultures mix and co-exist, mutual influence is observable, and unique forms of art have developed. Women of all cultural groups make artwork to contribute to family use as well as for sale. While their artwork is known, as individual women they have remained unseen, unheard, and unrecognized outside their communities. This study focusses upon the women who produce the artwork; what they call art; how they influence each other; how new materials and techniques have changed their work; how they learn their skills; their ideas for how future generations should be taught; what artwork means in their lives; how they value cultural history, and how they practice aesthetics, and/or art criticism. Forty-five women artists were interviewed over five summers, between 1992-1996. Most were videotaped in Inuvik at two festivals, or in Aklavik, Yellowknife, Tuktoyaktuk or Fort Smith, NWT . Each woman tells, in her own words, how her artwork evolved from early learning, and its meaning now. These women do not call themselves feminists but they discuss issues and struggles common to feminism. The lives of the women are interwoven; they are producing artists, teachers, organizers, wives, mothers, elders and community leaders. Their voices provide a historic link between old cultural traditions and new generations. The conclusions drawn from this study include differences in individual choices, power, education, various ways of learning, and how the women value their artwork. Influences on women's art include necessity, new materials and techniques, and other arctic peoples and land. The meaning of art in their lives is connected to individual self-development and economic survival, but also to families, and community recognition. They recommend that future generations be taught art skills at home as well as at school, and provide practical ideas for effective art education in schools in the Western Arctic and beyond.
Item Metadata
Title |
Western Arctic women artists’ perspectives on education and art
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
1997
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Description |
In the Western Arctic, women from two indigenous cultures, Inuit and Dene, have made
art for hundreds of years. Women's art was different from men's, but was essential to the survival
of families. Their skills were also used by colonial explorers and traders. Now a third group of
women, of European heritage called 'others' or 'non-natives', are also making art in the Western
Arctic. Each cultural group has a rich heritage, and where the cultures mix and co-exist, mutual
influence is observable, and unique forms of art have developed.
Women of all cultural groups make artwork to contribute to family use as well as for sale.
While their artwork is known, as individual women they have remained unseen, unheard, and
unrecognized outside their communities. This study focusses upon the women who produce the
artwork; what they call art; how they influence each other; how new materials and techniques
have changed their work; how they learn their skills; their ideas for how future generations
should be taught; what artwork means in their lives; how they value cultural history, and how
they practice aesthetics, and/or art criticism.
Forty-five women artists were interviewed over five summers, between 1992-1996. Most
were videotaped in Inuvik at two festivals, or in Aklavik, Yellowknife, Tuktoyaktuk or Fort
Smith, NWT . Each woman tells, in her own words, how her artwork evolved from early learning,
and its meaning now. These women do not call themselves feminists but they discuss issues and
struggles common to feminism. The lives of the women are interwoven; they are producing
artists, teachers, organizers, wives, mothers, elders and community leaders. Their voices provide
a historic link between old cultural traditions and new generations.
The conclusions drawn from this study include differences in individual choices, power,
education, various ways of learning, and how the women value their artwork. Influences on
women's art include necessity, new materials and techniques, and other arctic peoples and land.
The meaning of art in their lives is connected to individual self-development and economic
survival, but also to families, and community recognition. They recommend that future
generations be taught art skills at home as well as at school, and provide practical ideas for
effective art education in schools in the Western Arctic and beyond.
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Extent |
47981072 bytes
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Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-04-17
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0054851
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
1997-11
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.