A birchbark biting art piece that was donated for an art sale has found its way to where it belongs.
qathet Métis Nation community is honoured to receive the art piece by Métis artist Angelique Levac on the traditional territories of Tla’amin Nation, according to qathet Métis Nation president Tabatha Berggren. She said the generous gift from Art from the Attic underlines the importance of passing cultural learnings, while highlighting the need for repatriation of Indigenous art to the rightful communities.
“We look forward to safekeeping this beautiful art piece and amplifying the importance of Indigenous art forms,” added Berggren.
According to an inscription attached to the art piece, birchbark biting is an ancient art form once commonly practiced by northern woodland women, and today, is undergoing a revival due to artists such as Levac. The inscription states that birchbark bitings were originally used as patterns for head and quillwork designs, as well as for entertainment. The designs are as personal as the artist who created them, as no two toothmarks are alike.
Pam Brown, Art from the Attic representative, said the birchbark biting piece was donated for the art sale in 2019.
“We were looking at things to sell and we decided this piece wasn’t appropriate for sale, and that we should be passing it along to qathet Métis Nation,” said Brown.
Brown said Art from the Attic is fundraising for Powell River Hospice Society and Sunshine Gogos, which is the grandmothers-to-grandmothers campaign, where grandmothers in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States raise funds in their communities to support the life-enhancing programs run by African grandmothers and community-based organizations that support them.
Brown said Art from the Attic had been previously scheduled to take place, but everything became closed down because of the pandemic.
“We were going to have a big gala and we were cancelled because of COVID-19,” said Brown.
Now, the art sale will be April 30 and May 1 at Carlson Community Club, from 10 am to 4 pm on April 30 and 10 am to 2 pm on May 1. There will be a silent auction and pre-priced items. More than 250 pieces are for sale.
“We have some tiny pieces and some huge pieces,” said Brown. “There’s something for everybody. There’s lots of local artists, there’s some international artists, there’s prints, originals, oil paintings, silk screens, plus embroidery and textiles.”
All except the birchbark biting piece.
