ARTIST: Tom McNeely (Canadian, born 1935)
NAME: North American Indians
YEAR: 1986
MEDIUM: watercolor on heavy paper
CONDITION: Very good.
SIGHT SIZE: 21 x 17 inches / 53 x 43 cm
BOARD SIZE: 30 x 23 inches / 76 x 58 cm
SIGNATURE: lower right
NOTE: This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the Canadian 34c North American Indian stamp issued August 29, 1986. During the great Ice Age, when Asia and North America were joined by a land bridge, men and animals moved freely between the continents. These ancient people were Indians from Asia, and were cut off from returning there as the huge sheets of ice gradually melted away, submerging the natural bridge. The Indian population then moved into the northern forest regions of Canada and became known as the people of the Snowshoe. This population could have possibly been as large as 50,000 people although the northern people did not think of themselves as part of this enormous group. They lived primarily in little bands of a few families, except for the rare occasions when a few hundred or perhaps a thousand gathered at one time for a dance or feast. Almost all of the Indians of Northern Canada spoke the same dialect, and practiced many of the same customs. Since they were new to the land, the Indians adopted ways of life that insured their survival. Some roamed the grasslands hunting the ample game, while others settled into small agricultural communities. For thousands of years their customs have served them well, and still today some of these ancient ways of life remain in Northern Canada. The Indians from Asia were the first real explorers of what is today called Canada, for they ventured across the Bering Strait 40,000 years ago to begin a new life in North America.
PROVENANCE: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation.
CATEGORY: antique vintage painting
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SKU#: 117600
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BIOGRAPHY:
Born and raised a Cherokee, Sequoyah never spoke English, yet he watched in awe and wonderment as the white man looked at "talking leaves" and the leaves spoke to him. To be able to glance at a sheet full of another person's thoughts was like "catching a wild animal and taming it," he reasoned. He yearned to document his tribe's speech so that the leaves could speak to his people too. Sequoyah felt certain that this was the key to freedom from the white man. In 1809, Sequoyah tried representing tribal words with small animal figures and symbols, but the list grew hopelessly long. Next, he broke the words into syllables and designated symbols for each one. For twelve years he tirelessly labored toward his dream, often using a charred stick on a piece of bark as his writing tools. In 1821, he was ready to put his syllabary to the test. Men whispered a message to Sequoyah's child and the child wrote the message. Then, without faltering, Sequoyah read the message aloud. The skeptics were forever silenced. Soon, thousands of Indians mastered the eighty-six characters and could read and write. Sadly, despite this written language and Sequoyah's dream of freedom, white men still considered Cherokees as savages, to be relocated at their whim. Fortunately, today the Indian civilization is more highly regarded. In fact, the great Sequoyah is namesake to California's Sequoia National Park.