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Identity and Land
Where we are born, where we grow up, and
where we move to—whether by choice or
circumstance—all influence who we become.
In his essay for the exhibition catalogue, Neal
McLeod discusses how a lifestyle of hunting,
trapping, fishing, gathering plants, and the
changing rhythms of the seasons sustained the
livelihood of Indigenous peoples; land, humans,
and animals were deeply intertwined. When a
dam built in the Qu’Appelle Valley resulted in
flooding, the landscape was forever altered,
and by extension so too were the peoples of
the region. For more information, McLeod’s
interviews with elders and knowledge keepers
from the valley can be accessed at www.
mendel.ca/henderson, read in the exhibition
catalogue, or previewed in the exhibition.
14
James Henderson, The Marsh, 1918, oil on canvas.
Collection of James Lanigan.
The Marsh, by James Henderson, depicts the
marsh at the end of Pasqua Lake before the
building of the dam in Fort Qu’Appelle in 1943
caused extensive flooding. Prior to this flooding
the marsh was a traditional Indigenous hunting
area and was also used by settlers for the same
purpose. This is a contested issue today and
negotiations are still under way to compensate
members of the Pasqua reserve for the flooding.