Christian Morrisseau

Thunder Bay, Ontario

Growing up my father remained a distant figure. My Mother, Harriet Kakegamic, had seven children to care for. At the time it did not seem strange or difficult.

I recall my father's many visits. We went to school in Red Lake. During the summer we visited him in Winnipeg. That is the way life unfolded. Later he contacted my brother and I to come out West to help him. We visited him in White Rock. He paid us a thousand dollars a month and room and board. We learned a lot.

In 2002 the family was notified my father was in an institution for the insane. My brother and I went west again to rescue him and brought him back to Thunderbay and Keewaywin. During this time we all worked together on my father's health and on painting. I attempted to learn 'transformation' from him - a method of transferring knowledge and ability. It was good.

Most of my training comes down not just from my father, but, also, a long line of shaman-story tellers on both sides of my ancestry.

To conclude, I am an artist - the son of Norval Morrisseau. In a very strong way I feel a connection to my entire family, both my mothers family and my fathers family. We are part of a circle. We are not on the outside looking in but inside looking out.

People have asked me if I paint like my father. The answer is I paint with the Anishnabe.

NOTE: When my father died in December of 2007, the family was informed, after some thirty highly successful exhibitions in Toronto, that Morrisseau died without a bank account. Morrisseau died with no estate; Morrisseau, the painter, had no inventory. Six large canvases from the National Gallery of Canada exhibition had been dispersed. No member of his blood family had a single momento.