For artist Tim Schouten, the journey to document the places in Manitoba where the treaties between Indigenous and settler peoples were signed began over two decades ago when he first arrived in Winnipeg.
“I was at a sort of transitional place in my work,” he explains. “I was shifting from the figure to the landscape as a thematic... and I started exploring the landscape around here.”
That landscape included the Indigenous figures that represent one of the largest urban Indigenous populations in the country. Schouten recalls hearing Cree and Ojibwe spoken on the street corners but also encountering the racism that Indigenous peoples face in the community.
“It just made me think, ‘Well, if I’m going to paint this landscape, this work has to encompass the histories of this place, the histories of settler-Indigenous relations,” he remembers.
That’s when Schouten had his epiphany: “’Hey,’” he thought, “’Treaty One was signed thirty miles from here up at Lower Fort Garry. That might be a place to start.’”
The latest chapter in Schouten’s artistic journey – which he calls The Treaty Suites – is The Island Lake Paintings (Treaty 5), which are on display at the Soul Gallery in the Exchange District. Schouten travelled up to what is known as the “Old Post” on Linklater Island in the heart of Treaty 5 Territory to attend a memorial gathering and the inauguration of the new Grand Chief of the Tribal Council, Michael Birch.
As with each one of the projects in The Treaty Suites, Schouten approached the subject of Treaty 5 with great care and respect. “I always reach out to the local band council and inform them of my project,” he says, “and there’s always sort of a wary kind of acknowledgment and acceptance of my plan. So, I had to be very cautious and respectful. I’m always very careful to respect protocols, to carry tobacco with me to offer as a gift.”
“It is about developing relationships with people and communities, and I enter those relationships from the position of somebody who’s learning, always. I’m coming to learn.”
When Schouten arrived at Linklater Island – a middle gathering place for the communities of the Anisininew Okimawin – Red Sucker Lake, Wasagamak, St. Teresa Point, and Garden Hill – he began documenting the signing place through photographs, guided by elders and community members. Upon returning to Winnipeg, he spent time in various archives to find more photographs and to gain more sense of the history around the signing.
“From all of the photographs, I chose images that I felt kind of commemorated a moment, a memory of being there and also acknowledged what was going on, the ceremony that was developing,” Schouten says, “but I kind of tried to reference those activities almost obtusely in the paintings.”
While Schouten doesn’t believe that the works in The Island Lake Paintings (Treaty 5) provide any new insights into the ongoing conversations and work surrounding truth and reconciliation efforts, he does hope that it will cause people to think more about the relationships between treaty peoples. “We settlers have had long and dynamic relations with the First Peoples here,” he says. “Those relationships are troubled and broken down – they need to be renewed. A lot needs to be reconciled. And there’s a lot of wonder and joy to be found in rebuilding those relationships.”
The Island Lake Paintings (Treaty 5) is on display at the Soul Gallery until June 12. For gallery hours and more information, visit the Soul Gallery’s website.