An Homage to Aboriginal Women – Wathahine: Photographs of Aboriginal Women by Nance Ackerman At the McCord Museum

Montreal – As part of its ongoing commitment to explore the contemporary realities of Aboriginal people, the McCord Museum presents Wathahine: Photographs of Aboriginal Women by Nance Ackerman until May 11, 2011. The exhibition, comprised of 27 photographs and a video installation, tells the story of some 20 remarkable Aboriginal women (elders, artists, teachers and activists). All are women of strength and determination who have fought to improve their communities, their lives and the lives of their families.The evocative black-and-white portraits that make up this exhibition are the work of Canadian photographer and filmmaker Nance Ackerman. Twenty years ago, she set out on a search for identity. Equipped with her camera and a notepad, she travelled from Labrador to Vancouver and from the Arctic to Oka. During her journey, she met exceptional women who she immortalized on film—women such as Rita Joe, a Mi’kmaq poet, in her home in Cape Breton; traditionalist Theresa Rich, who gathers spruce boughs on the subarctic tundra; and Rose Gregoire, who defiantly stood on a runway in Goose Bay, Labrador, blocking the take-off of military planes attempting to carry out low-level flights over her people’s traditional hunting territories.

Visitors to the exhibition will have the unique opportunity to meet Aboriginal women who have and continue to display extraordinary courage and resilience as they fight to preserve peace and their ancestral traditions. The photographs are accompanied by poignant testimonials from these exceptional individuals.

This photography exhibition has been made possible through funding from the Canada Council Explorations Programme and the Secretary of State, Multiculturalism. The following institutions and individuals have also provided assistance: Pauktuutit (Inuit Women’s Association), Jessica Hill of the Kanien’kehaka Onkwawén:na Raotitiohkwa Cultural Centre, and the Native Women’s Association of Canada.

The McCord Museum, one of the most important museums in Canada, is dedicated to the preservation, study, diffusion and appreciation of Canadian history. It is home to one of the largest historical collections in North America, comprised of First Nations objects, costumes and textiles, decorative and visual artworks, and textual archives. The McCord Museum produces exhibitions and develops innovative educational activities and Internet projects in collaboration with local, national and international partners.

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Images available on request.

For more information on the exhibition or to schedule an interview with a member of our staff, please contact:

Emilie Laurencelle-Bonsant
Communications Officer, McCord Museum
514 398-7100, ext. 239
emilie.laurencelle-bonsant@mccord.mcgill.ca