Zacharie Vincent

Zacharie Vincent
Life & Work by Louise Vigneault
The Originality of the Work
The significance of Zacharie Vincent’s work rests primarily on the fact that he was
among the first Native Canadian artists to express himself through the medium of easel
painting, which he adapted to his own purposes in an original way.
His work bears witness to the Huron-Wendat community of the nineteenth
century: its geopolitical condition, its gradual acculturation, the reciprocal agreements it
established with the colonial power, and the strategies it adopted to ensure its survival.
Finally, his work leads to debate on colonial and post-colonial relations, on the tensions
inherent in globalization that are still affecting Native communities, and on strategies for
the reappropriation of identity.
The Representation of the Native Subject
Vincent’s oeuvre invites reflection on the
representation of the Native subject, on
Indianness, and on the changes in intercultural
dialogue in both colonial and post-colonial
contexts. A study of works by Native artists,
viewed from their creators’ perspective and
taking into consideration their concepts and
beliefs, allows a reversal of the angle of analysis
and a better understanding of these complex
relationships.
Since the late 1970s, Native artworks
have been the object of study in the fields of
history (Robert Berkhofer, Denys
Delâge, Donald Smith, Gilles Thérien),
anthropology (Olive Patricia Dickason), art
history (Anne-Marie Blouin, Daniel
Francis, François-Marc Gagnon, Louise
Vigneault), sociology (Guy Sioui Durand), and
literary studies (Hélène Destrempes, Réal
Ouellet). This research has developed tools to
deepen our understanding of the contributions of
Native peoples to the creation of the imaginary in
the Americas, and the contributions they
continue to make to a precise redefinition of
national identities as identities of resistance.
Louis-Philippe Hébert, The Last Indian, 1901, terracotta, 19.7 x 20.2 x 15.6 cm, National Gallery of
Canada, Ottawa. Vincent’s oeuvre invites reflection on the representation of the Native subject, as
depicted in such works as this sculpture
39