Tributes to Alex Janvier pour in from across Canada

By Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

(ANNews) – Condolences are pouring in from across Canada after the death of famed Indigenous artist and residential school survivor Alex Janvier, whose funeral will be held  July 17 at the Cold Lake Energy Centre, followed by a private burial.

Janvier, who hailed from Cold Lake First Nations in northern Alberta, was internationally renowned for incorporating traditional Indigenous styles into modernist painting.

In a statement posted to Facebook, Cold Lake First Nations said Janvier’s “creativity enriched our lives and strengthened our connection to our culture and heritage.”

“Through his profound storytelling, Alex’s artwork beautifully captured the essence of our traditions.”

Janvier’s works are featured in the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) in Ottawa, the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton and the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, as well as the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Two Janvier murals, entitled Sunrise and Sunset, have been displayed in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta’s chamber since 2019.

“It’s the only prominent display of anything Indigenous in any provincial legislative chamber in Canada. And those two murals will remain there for generations to come,” Edmonton-based Indigenous educator Lewis Cardinal wrote on Facebook.

Outside Rogers Place, where the Edmonton Oilers play, sits a large Janvier mosaic, Iron Foot Place. The flagship downtown Edmonton Stanley A. Milner Library also displays his art, as does the Strathcona County Library.

Upon his July 10 death, the NGC called Janvier “one of the most respected artists in Canada,” sharing a 2017 interview with him from the opening of a career retrospective exhibit.

“I live on the natural land that’s still pristine, and so I walk in it and that’s my university,” Janvier said in the interview. “I pick up my information from the land.”

Michelle LaVallee, director of Indigenous Ways and Curatorial Initiatives at the NGC, said Janvier’s “spirit and legacy will live on forever in the beautiful works he created which will continue to uplift, educate and inspire for generations to come.”

Edmonton-West Henday NDP MLA Brooks Arcand-Paul, who is from Alexander First Nation, called Janvier’s death a “profound loss in the art world and NDN country” on Twitter.

“Rest in Power Alex Janvier. Signed, a little nehiyaw napesis who got it. Mahsi cho,” Arcand-Paul added.

Edmonton Journal art critic Fish Griwkowsky described Janvier’s “playful-rascal sense of humour, his utterly expressive art, his hidden Easter eggs, his international impact — especially on so many young artists over decades.”

“So many of us miss you, but you’re still here in a great many ways,” Griwkowsky wrote on Twitter.

Edmonton-Griesbach NDP MP Blake Desjarlais, who is Métis and Cree, described Janvier as a “powerful spirit now made ancestor.”

“May Alex Janvier’s art be a constant reminder of the strength, resilience, and love that has guided him and that he has offered all of us,” Desjarlais wrote on Facebook.

“His work has deeply touched me and countless others. His work and legacy have offered us strength and pride as native people.”

“Sad to hear of Alex Janvier’s passing,” noted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on social media. “His art reflected so much of Canada’s history, including some of the hardest parts of our story.”

Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he’s “saddened” to hear about Janvier’s death.

“Alex was an inspiration, who paved the way for many Indigenous artists,” said Singh. “My heart is with his loved ones and members of the community who are grieving this loss.”

Laurie Hawn, the former Conservative MP for Edmonton Centre, spoke fondly of the times he used to see Janvier when he travelled to Cold Lake.

“We have two pieces of Alex’s work, one original and one giclee; both are treasured,” Hawn wrote on Facebook.

Jill Andrew, the Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament for Toronto-St. Paul’s, expressed her “deepest condolences to [Janvier’s] loved ones and the many hearts and minds he touched through his revolutionary paintings.”

Born on Feb. 28, 1935, Janvier was sent to Blue Quills Indian Residential School near St. Paul, Alta., for forced assimilation when he was eight.

University of Manitoba historian and Indigenous Studies scholar Sean Carleton said he teaches about Janvier in his Residential School Literature course.

“[H]e learned to make art as an escape,” Carleton wrote on Twitter.

After studying at the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art in Calgary, now known as the Alberta University of the Arts, Janvier began his career as a painter, illustrator and occasional teacher.

In 1973, he founded Professional Native Indian Artists Inc., better known as the Indian Group of Seven, alongside fellow First Nations artists Norval Morrisseau, Daphne Odjig and Jackson Beardy.

The naming of Alex Janvier School in west Edmonton is a testament to Janvier’s local significance. On July 10, the public school announced it was lowering its flags at half-mast in honour of its namesake’s death.

“His legacy is far reaching as an artist, community leader, and advocate and we are even more honoured to continue to live out his legacy of resilience, determination, artistic excellence, and hard work here at Alex Janvier School.  We remember his words that each of us needs to find and use our voice,” a school spokesperson wrote on Facebook.