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NATIVE HUMOUR AND IDENTITY CONTESTED THROUGH LITERATURE AND THE ARTS Figure 1. Bill Powless, “Indians’ Summer’, acrylic on canvas 97x 177 cm, 1984, Tribal Vision, n.d. http://www.tribalvisiondance.com/p/original-artwork-by-bill-powless. html. By permission of artist. Another drawing by Powless, titled Fear of Wet Feathers (1985) (see Figure 2), featured along with Indians’ Summer in an exhibition on Native art mounted by Hamilton artists in January 1985 (Ryan 11). Here, the traditional warrior facial paint, native dress, long hair, and feathers are contested with an image, the umbrella, taken from modern urban living. The romanticized notion of Indianness is contrasted with the humanist agenda. A recognition of the human being, the individual with its own fears contradicts traditional stereotypical perception, which claims that the Indian is stoic, brave and fearless. The drawing implies that Indians are just simple folk underneath the feather and paint, and the theme of traditional versus urban and global is shown by sarcasm and wry humour. The umbrella is a symbol of modern urban consumer society; the umbrella image distorts and disintegrates the strong warrior image. Thomas King’s humorous phrase comes to mind: “you're not the Indian I had in mind” (31). Powless is highly ironic, satirical and uses self-deprecatory humour to get his message across to the Indigenous and the non-Indigenous population alike. + 97 «+
