Journal of Prisoners on Prisons (1990) Cover Art by Norval Morrisseau

Special Issue on Native Peoples

Vol. 2 Number 2 Spring 1990:

Cover Art by Norval Morrisseau

Articles:

• Native American - vs - Anglo Rehabilitation: Contrasting Cultural Perspectives, by Little Rock Reed
• If There is No Justice There is No Peace, by Arthur Solomon
• Sweet Grass in The Iron House, by Danny Homer
• The Nature of Contempt: Letters From Gaol, by C.J Hinke
• Female Political Prisoners and Anti-Imperialist Struggles, by Susan Rosenberg
• Voices That Shall Be Heard, by Dragon Milovanovic

This 1990 "Journal of Prisoners on Prisons" issue was produced the same year as Norval Morrisseau's postage stamp was issued.

While it was a commendable idea, it is highly unlikely that 19 years after Robert Lavack wrote several letters suggesting Norval Morrisseau's work be pictured on a postage stamp that his request was finally realized. In fact there is no evidence to suggest that Mr. Lavack had anything to do with the Morrisseau stamp. The painting reproduced on the 1990 stamp was actually painted in 1973, after Mr. Lavack had fled the country. Nevertheless, fanciful rumours do persist.

 

Sacred Otters with Children (1990) Norval Morrisseau

Sacred Otters with Children

Norval Morrisseau

1990, 60" x 96", acrylic on canvas

In the early 1990s Norval had me fly out to the West Coast with six Otter pelts for him. He planned to make a ceremonial coat adorned with sea shells. To keep the pelts safe I brought them on the plane with me.... Its amazing how attractive Otter pelts are to flight attendants!

Ritchie

In stark contrast to this elegant authentic painting look at this example of a forged Norval Morrisseau Otter painting recently sold through Waddingtons auctioneers for three times its estimate because it fooled people. Learn more about the artist who painted the Waddingtons forgery.

Shaman Talking to Animals - Norval Morrisseau

Shaman Talking to Animals

Norval Morrisseau

1990s

"Just as a fish swims in any clear northern lake (in a medium that is virtually invisible to the eye) so we, if we are to live all right, should realize we live in a dimension on which our very existence, as people and artists, depends. The dimension is that of connectivity in life shared together in mutual respect. Fish, in spawning runs, seem to urge each other on, to reach safe and secluded lakes, with plentiful food supplies. Once there, they can live more non-competitively."

Norval Morrisseau

Frolicking Astral Images by Norval Morrisseau

Frolicking Astral Images

Norval Morrisseau

1990s

"These paintings only remind you that you're an Indian. Inside somewhere, we're all Indians. So now when I befriend you, I'm trying to get the best Indian, bring out the Indianness in you to make you think everything is sacred."

Norval Morrisseau