Allen Sapp is, without doubt, the most talented and influential visual artist in North Battleford's 100-year history as a city. Allen was born on Jan. 2, 1929, a cold winter day, on the Red Pheasant reserve 25 miles south of the town of Battleford. He was raised by Maggie Soonias, his grandmother, for whom he had the greatest love and admiration. Indeed, the memories of the wonderful relationship between Allen and his grandmother inspired him to put to canvas some of his most culturally sensitive and important works.
Allen had a difficult and, in many ways, unhappy childhood. He was sick much of the time and bullied by other children. Allen never learned to read and write and remained illiterate all of his life. To deal with his pain and rejection, he found solace in drawing pictures. When he was eight and suffering from a chronic sickness, a Nootokao (old matriarch) dreamed that Allen was close to death. To ward off evil, she bestowed a Cree name upon him - Kiskayetum (he perceives it).
As Allen grew older, he found an increasing satisfaction in painting and drawing. At age 14 Allen contracted spinal meningitis. Recovery from this potentially deadly disease was excruciatingly painful, slow and exhausting. But Nootokao assured Allen that he would live because he had a great purpose to fulfill. He would convey the message of his people in a way that words never could. He would be a blessing to both the Naheyow, his people, and the white man. His painting would document the struggle of his people for both physical and cultural survival and show the world that his people, the Plains Cree, were a quiet and gentle people with a remarkable history, one rich in traditions and time-honoured customs.
The Great Depression of the 1930s was a time of unrelenting poverty and death for Allen's family. By the early '40s, four of Allen's siblings had died including his brother John who succumbed to tuberculosis at age 13. Some years later, Allen's wife spent several years in the tuberculosis sanatorium in Prince Albert.
Ironically, poverty, sickness and death ultimately infused Allen's drawing and painting of the Cree and reserve life with an intuitive and wonderful sensitivity. But before that, after moving to North Battleford in 1961, he struggled to make a living by painting pictures of mountains and streams and animals - calendar art he thought would appeal to white society. Despite the fact Allen could speak little English, he cut his hair, wore second-hand suits and black rimmed glasses in an effort to fit in with mainstream society. Between 1961 and 1966, Allen struggled with both the character of his paintings and his identity. Who was he?
On one occasion, Allen was trying to sell his paintings at the North Battleford Medical Clinic when he met Dr. Allan Gonor. Dr. Gonor saw Allen's potential. He bought several of Allen's paintings before he persuaded him to paint what he knew - his family, and the vanishing life of the reserve, and to see the value of the past and the importance of his culture. Dr. Gonor was able to touch Allen's soul. He also sought professional artists from across Canada to advise and assist Allen. Wynona Mulcaster, an art professor at the University of Saskatchewan greatly influenced Allen. Doctor Ferdinand Eckhardt, director of the Winnipeg Art Gallery, was also a great help.
In September of 1968, Mulcaster persuaded Allen to show his paintings at her home in Saskatoon. The show was a great success. Seven months later, his first major exhibition at the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon was met with an overwhelming response. Some 13,000 people passed through the gallery. Every one of Allen's 61 paintings sold. This exhibition on Easter weekend in 1969 resulted in an explosion of interest in his art and Cree culture. Allen had arrived.
He was invited to shows in London, England, most of the major cities in Canada, and American cities including New York and Los Angeles. His reviews were extraordinary. He was lauded by mainstream society and characterized by art critics who wrote that his canvasses formed, "illusions so arresting as to constitute a revelation." Others suggested Allen told the story of his people more vividly on canvas than has been told by hundreds of printed words.
At this point, Allen had some idea of the magnitude of his success even though his inherent modesty prevented him from self praise. Instead, he appreciated more than ever his people and the memories they evoked. He now understood himself - who he was and from where he had come. He noted with pride that he was a descendant of Poundmaker, the great 19th century chief of the Plains Cree. Allen began to discard the trappings and look of the white man. He grew his hair into long braids and tied them with deer skin. He wore denim, cowboy boots, beaded medallions and a cowboy hat. Allen asserted with confidence that, "it is better to be a good Indian than a poor white man." At this point he did not yet know that he was destined to be of great importance in preserving and enhancing the culture of the Plains Cree.
In 1976, Allen went to New York to attend the opening of a show at the Hammer Galleries. A reporter for the Christian Science Monitor noted, "He had a great reverence for the land, a tradition in Indian religion, and derives much of his inspiration from nature. A radiant light permeates most of his painting it is evident that not only his art, but his identity, is deeply rooted in Indian culture."
Celebrity and the limelight and overwhelming attention can take a devastating toll on a rising star. But Allen's upbringing by his grandmother, and his culture, served to stabilize him and ensure his values and priorities remained solid. Painting was Allen's life and his great love. It had made him immensely successful. But Allen cared more for religious ceremonies and the pow wow and round dance. Nor did fame dampen his belief in sharing the way of his people. His car was a taxi and he gave money to reserve members in need.
By 1974, Allen's reputation was such that he was the subject of a book, Portrait of the Plains Cree, a documentary by the CBC and National Film Board. He also met the prime minister, Pierre Trudeau. In 1980, he met Princess Margaret and presented her with one of his paintings. In 1981, another book, A Cree Life: The Art of Allen Sapp, was released. In 1985, Allen was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. He also became one of eight recipients to receive the Saskatchewan Order of Merit. In 1986, Allen was recognized as one of the senior native artists in Canada, " whose contributions to the present renaissance of native art and culture will only be measured by history."
The most prestigious award bestowed was his appointment as an Officer to the Order of Canada by the Governor General in 1987. Finally, it was a great honour for Allen to have the Allen Sapp Gallery officially opened in North Battleford on May 6, 1989.
Truly, Allen Sapp has been a blessing to both First Nations people and their white brothers. His stature as an international artist brought our city into prominence. More importantly, Allen's unmatched talent, his intuitive grasp of the importance of the land and the meaning of his culture, and his generosity and desire to share with his fellow man, have created a bridge and a quiet dialogue between two peoples.
On the occasion of our city's centennial, we express our great admiration for Allen Sapp and say thank you to an extraordinary citizen.
(Source: The Life and Art of Allen Sapp, Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan, Two spirits soar, W.P. Kinsella) )
