Figure

Item number 3100/24 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Description

Soapstone carving of a bird caught in a trap beside its nest. The small bird is carved from dark grey soapstone. It is hunched over two oblong eggs sitting in a hollow in the stone. Around the bird's neck is a thin brown string tied to one of three stakes to either side. The base of the object has yellow paper adhered to it, with the artist name written in ink, an inventory number, and a stamp that says "Eskimo Craft Camsell Hospital Edmonton".

Narrative

The number on the base "T-194" was a tracking number assigned to crafts at the hospital. It was entered into the carving instructor's ledger as "goose? in snare" on March 7, 1956. (See "From the Sanatorium to the Museum and Beyond", Sara Komarnisky, pg 352.)

Cultural Context

Made by Tegiapak while he was a patient at the Charles Camsell Hospital in Edmonton. In 1946, The Charles Camsell tuberculosis hospital opened in Edmonton, run by the Department of Indian and Eskimo Affairs. Between 1945 and 1967, the hospital operated an occupational therapy program for aboriginal patients. In 1990, the hospital donated a collection of over 400 arts and craft items made by patients in the program to the Royal Alberta Museum.