Let's Find Out About Indians

Item number 2567/1 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Description

Book with red cover and title, "Let's Find Out About INDIANS" in silver letters on the front. Inside the book are alternating transparent pages with black and white sketches and glossy paper with photographic images. Signed by the artist on the last page. Edition 2/25.

History Of Use

The drawn images in the book came from an 1962 library book that the artist found at a book sale, called "Let's Find Out About Indians". The artist has 'rewritten' the book by juxtaposing the old images with photographs from her own family albums.

Narrative

The basis of this art book is a 1962 children’s primer that the artist found at a second hand book sale. Seto wrote: "While looking through this text, now an artifact of the elementary school system, I kept thinking of photographs from my own family archives while reading simplistic statements like “The Indians ate cereal every day”, “The Indians had no schools” and “Indians big and little liked to dance”. Taking the text from the book and replacing it’s hokey, old-style ‘Hollywood Indian’ images with my own family photos, I attempted to give a more accurate portrayal of the history, life and complexities of a family of Aboriginal ancestry." The artist also stated: “I consider my re-creation of this 1962 book my own personal contribution towards dispelling negative stereotyping…I plan to continue to use my art to educate, expose and explore issues of cultural identity."

Item History

What

Name
Let's Find Out About Indians
Identification Number
2567/1
Type of Item
book
Material
paper, fibre, adhesive, ink and metal
Overall
height 40.3 cm, width 29.8 cm, depth 1.5 cm

Where

Holding Institution
MOA: University of British Columbia
Made in
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Who

Culture
Metis
Creator
Alexis Macdonald Seto (Maker)
Previous Owner
Alexis Macdonald Seto
Received from
Alexis Macdonald Seto (Seller) and Museum of Anthropology Acquisitions Budget (Funding source)

When

Creation Date
during 2001
Ownership Date
before December 3, 2002
Acquisition Date
on December 3, 2002

Other

Item Classes
works on paper
Condition
excellent
Current Location
Case 44
Accession Number
2567/0001
This work is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 2.5 Canada License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available by emailing [email protected].

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