Regina exhibit aims to show joy, dignity of Indigenous life in archival photos

During the 20th century, many photographs were taken of Indigenous people in Canada — but most of the subjects' families may not have seen them. 

An exhibit by Paul Seesequasis called Turning the Lens: Indigenous Archival Project at the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina features photos of Indigenous people from as far back as the late 1910s until the 1960s.

Seesequasis, a Plains Cree writer based in Saskatoon, said his mother inspired him to look at these photographs differently in a comment she made a decade ago about how the public only saw Indigenous people in the context of trauma and tragedy.

"She really inspired me to reframe that image and look for positive images, because without the strength and resilience of families, our culture and languages wouldn't survive," he said.

"What these photos really are, are snapshots of time, as all photographs are, but they also frame the Indigenous experience in a totally positive way [by] showing humour, dignity, joy, living off the land etcetera, but most of them aren't named."

Seesequasis said when he began posting the photos on social media, viewers began to identify the people in the pictures, some people even spotting themselves. 

"When you begin to name the photographs, it's like the photographs come back to life," he said.

"It has a connection to the community; it's not just a museum piece anymore."

LISTEN | How a social media post became an exhibit: 

MacKenzie Art Gallery curatorial fellow Felicia Gay said Seesequasis's work offers a counterpoint to what has historically been seen as a one-sided story of Indigenous people.

"Turning the Lens is not only about the idea of resilience, but also a testament to how we as Indigenous people counter photography as a project of empire and de-centre the original intent of early 20th documentation of Indigenous people through acts of joy and community reclamation," said Gay.

Seesequasis said he still has many mysteries to solve on the origins and people featured in many of the photos.

"It's like an iceberg and I feel like I've just uncovered the top of it, but underneath the water there is a huge, huge amount that hasn't been recovered," he said.