Sydney College of the Arts The University of Sydney Doctor of Philosophy 2018 Thesis Towards an Indigenous History: Indigenous Art Practices from Contemporary Australia and Canada Rolande Souliere A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney This is to certify that to the best of my knowledge, the content of this thesis is my own work. This thesis has not been submitted for any degree or other purposes. I certify that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work and that all the assistance received in preparing this thesis and sources have been acknowledged. Rolande Souliere i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Lynette Riley for her assistance in the final process of writing this thesis. I would also like to thank and acknowledge Professor Valerie Harwood and Dr. Tom Loveday. Photographer Peter Endersbee (1949-2016) is most appreciated for the photographic documentation over my visual arts career. Many people have supported me during the research, the writing and thesis preparation. First, I would like to thank Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney for providing me with this wonderful opportunity, and Michipicoten First Nation, Canada, especially Linda Petersen, for their support and encouragement over the years. I would like to thank my family - children Chloe, Sam and Rohan, my sister Rita, and Kristi Arnold. A special thank you to my beloved mother Carolyn Souliere (deceased) for encouraging me to enrol in a visual arts degree. I dedicate this paper to her. Lastly, thank you to all the Indigenous artists in Australia and Canada for their inspiration, support, companionship and art. Chi Migwetch! ii DISCLAIMER Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are to be advised that this thesis contains names of Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islanders people who have passed away. iii ABSTRACT The debate of Indigenous art as contemporary art in Western art discourse has been ongoing since the acceptance of Indigenous art as contemporary art in the early 1990s. This has resulted in a collision of four diverse fields; Western art history, Western art criticism, anthropology and Indigenous cultural material. The debate stems from the problematised way the term contemporary is defined by globalised Euro-Western art and its institutions. This thesis considers the value of applying the concept of the contemporary to Indigenous art practices and art, in particular as a mode for cultural self-determination in order to avoid the historical domination of Western art history, history and its discursive power arrangements. The term, concept or theory of the contemporary remains elusive, indefinable and widespread in Western art discourse. Various definitions exist and are based on notions of openness, newness or plurality. Criticism of the contemporary’s openness has led to speculation of the contemporary as a valid concept or theory and or as a field of art practice, particularly its claim to social or political engagement and its inability to historicise current art. This thesis contends that the openness of the contemporary concept provides a gateway in which to situate it in a much broader cultural analysis that embraces different historiographies and worldviews. Thereby directly contributing to the ongoing critical discourse of Indigenous art as contemporary art debate. This thesis contributes to addressing this debate by proposing a definition of the contemporary that bridges history, art history and contemporary art and explores the potential for administering a contemporary art practice within this view. It highlights the historical analysis of the journey of Indigenous art from the ethnographic to the contemporary art museum by examining Indigenous rupture and transformation through Western history and art history. The thesis examines Terry Smith’s recent contextualisation of contemporary theory, as Smith is the only art historian to include Indigenous art in the discussion on contemporary theory. 1 Richard Meyer’s theory on the contemporary is also examined as Meyer is unique in approaching contemporary theory from an artistic practice that embraces co-temporalities, art production and modes of trans-historicity. In ‘rendering the past as newly present’, this thesis proposes methods of contemporary art analysis in the examination of contemporary Indigenous artworks in the context that the socio-political and cultural use of contemporary art as a form of history production. Description of Creative Work An exhibition of one large installation took place at Sydney College of the Arts Galleries, Sydney in September 2016. Media included two- and three-dimensional artworks that were hung on the walls and placed on the floor. The installation used Indigenous forms, designs, processes and 1 Terry Smith, What is Contemporary Art? (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2009), 133. iv social, political, and cultural content as a result of the thesis research and demonstrated Indigenous artists are creating their Indigenous histories within the context of contemporary art. Photographic documentation is available in Appendix 3. v GLOSSARY The following definitions are intended to provide a general understanding of the some of the terms used throughout the thesis. Aboriginal: A term used for the descendants of the original inhabitants of Australia and Canada. In Canada Aboriginal is used by government institutions to acknowledge all Indigenous peoples - First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples. In Australia this term acknowledges one of two Indigenous peoples – Aboriginal Australians. When acknowledging or referring to all Indigenous people in Australia the preferred term is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.2 Aboriginal Missions: Parcels of land granted by the Australian government for Aboriginal peoples to reside under the guardianship of the church or a religious person. As a form of assimilation, Aboriginal people were trained in the Christian faith and prepared for the work force. The missions offered physical protection from the violence of pastoralists and others.3 Aboriginal Reserves: Parcels of land put aside by the Australian government for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from the late 1700s onwards due to the increasing numbers of settler migration. Relatively speaking these parcels were often land preferred by Aboriginal peoples, such as existing camping grounds. Aboriginal people on the reserves were responsible for their own housing but did receive blankets and rations from the Aborigines Protection Board (APB). These reserves were unmanaged by the government and their officials.4 Aboriginal Stations: Established from 1883 onwards in Australia, stations were similar to reserves but were managed by officials appointed by the APB. This could either be a non- Indigenous individual or the local police. They sometimes are referred to as “managed reserves”. Housing, schooling and rations were provided and controlled by the manager. The manager also controlled who could reside on the station, the daily movements of Aboriginal people and had legal guardianship of their children. Aboriginal people living on these stations basically had no citizenship rights. Missionaries also visited some managed reserves. Rations, housing and training for the workforce were provided to Aboriginal peoples who lived on the station. The station manager controlled who could live on the station and as such many people were forcibly moved on and off the station.5 2 Indigenous People in Canada see"Indigenous Peoples terminology guidelines for usage," 2016, accessed April 1, 2018, https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/indigenous-peoples-terminology-guidelines-for- usage. For Australian Indigenous Peoples see 3 See "Mission and reserve records," 2018, accessed April 1, 2018, http://aiatsis.gov.au/research/finding-your-family/family-history-sources/mission-and-reserve- records. 1. 4 Studies, "Mission and reserve records." 5 Studies, "Mission and reserve records." vi Anishinabe: Alternate spellings include Anishinaabe, and Anishinabeg. The Anishinabe are part of the Algonquian language group. This group includes the nations of the Ojibwa, Saulteaux, Chippewa, Potawatomi, Cree, Miq’ma, Odawa and many others. The Anishinabek, formerly known as the Ojibway or Ojibwa, have reverted to their original name for the term Ojibway was a Western term imposed upon them and is no longer used. Anishinabe in the native tongue means the “good beings”. Art: In this paper, "art" refers to any cultural art form that is exercised by Indigenous artists regardless of date of execution. This encompasses all the arts in the Western disciplines as well as Indigenous basket weaving, carving, storytelling, beadwork, etc. Band: A body of First Nations people of Canada for whose collective use and benefit lands have been set apart or is held by the Crown, or declared to be a band for the purposes of the Indian Act. Each band has its own governing band council that consists of a Chief and councillors. Both are elected by the community or sometimes through custom. The members of the band usually share common traditions anchored in their ancestral heritage. Today, many bands prefer to be addressed as their land followed by the wording First Nations: For example, Cape Crocker First Nation. Bill C-31: The Canadian pre-legislation name of the 1985 Act to Amend the Indian Act. This act eliminated certain discriminatory provisions of the Indian