Erin Stagg | Otipemisewak: The People Who Own Themselves

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Erin Stagg, "Since Time Immemorial," 2022

acrylic on canvas. Courtesy of the Gallery.

Prince George-based artist Erin Stagg is telling the story of the Métis throughout the region. Her exhibition Otipemisewak: The People Who Own Themselves which was on display at Two Rivers Gallery earlier this year will travel throughout the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George from June to November to the following locations:

• Mackenzie Community Arts Centre from June 22nd to July 30th
• Valemount Museum and Archive from August 15th to September 26th 
• Valley Museum and Archives from October 17th to November 17th.

The Cree called the Métis Otipemisewak, or “the people who own themselves,” because they followed the beat of their own drum. This series of acrylic paintings by Prince George-based interdisciplinary artist Erin Stagg captures this intangible spirit of the Métis culture by illustrating stories of the Métis people through her own family history.

Many years ago, the Cree gifted the Métis with the name Otipemisewak, or “the people who own themselves.” This honour was bestowed upon the Métis to acknowledge that their identity is not partly European and partly Indigenous; they are wholly their own. This independence, resilience, and spirit was beautifully captured by Prince George-based artist Erin Stagg, who created a series of acrylic paintings illustrating stories of the Métis people through the lens of her own family history.

Stagg makes translating years of history into a visual story look easy. Her paintings combine depictions of hardships and triumphs experienced by her ancestors with dreamlike references to her family’s practice of beadwork, weaving a tapestry of old and new, real and imagined. The clusters of tiny dots representing beads on Stagg’s paintings took hundreds of hours and are a nod to the labour of this traditional Indigenous art form, which she has recently endeavoured to learn in addition to her painting practice. The result of her efforts is a visually captivating story of displacement, colonization, strength, and love that stretches far back in time and continues to unfold into the future.