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Narrative

From a collection of Northwest Coast inspired artwork produced by First Nations children at the Alert Bay Residential School during the 1968 to 1969 school year. The works were also part of an exhibition of student drawings, displayed at the Charles Sanderson Library in Toronto during 1970. They were also featured briefly by one of the local television stations. Residential schools were operated by religious organizations and followed the regular provincial curriculum. The Alert Bay Residential School was operated by the Anglican Church of Canada. According to the Van Drielens, art was discouraged at the School because 'they couldn't make a living at it'.

Cultural Context

student art

Description

Two drawings on light brown paper glued to a vertically rectangular, yellow card. Smaller drawing at the top is a pencil line drawing of a stylized, left facing, profile seal with design elements variously coloured in with crayon. Image is on a yellow-orange brown coloured in background with a blue border and 'SEAL' printed in various colours at the top left. The eye is surrounded by a grey area. There is a split u at the neck. There is a profile face on the back. The fins and the tail are pointed. There are four fin-like protrusions along the back. Bottom drawing is a left facing seal ? that is drawn in pen with design elements filled in with pencil and pencil crayon in light blue, yellow, and pink-red. The eye is surrounded by a green area. The body has four sets of upside down black u fomrs with upside down red split u's with yellow ovoids below, and red, green, and black u forms and split u's. Image is surrounded by yellow, then blue, then pink-red shaded bands. The two limbs have a green ovoid that is yellow centred and a red curvi-linear t-shape with a yellow ovoid next to the four digit claw. Covered with clear plastic.