George Clutesi

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Dr. George Clutesi, Ph.D., C.M. was born in Port Alberni, British Columbia in 1905. He became a Tseshaht artist, actor and writer as well as an expert on and spokesman for Native Canadian culture. In 1959, he received the British Columbia Centennial Award and the Canadian Centennial Medal in 1967.^[1] Mr. Clutesi was commissioned to paint a mural for Expo 67. Emily Carr was so impressed with his work that in her will she left him her brushes, oils and unused canvases. He died in Victoria in 1988. ^[2]

Mr. Clutesi was raised in his mother's home village after her death when he was four. His father and aunts recognized his ability at an early age and encouraged him to develop his talent. He sought refuge in his art from the pressures brought to bear on him at the Alberni Residential School. At the school, the children were driven to forget their heritage and culture in an effort to force them to assimilate into Euro-Canadian culture.^[3]

As an adult, he worked at such occupations as fisherman and as a pile driver in order to support his wife and five children. With the encouragement of friends, he began to paint in oils and to exhibit his work during the 1940s and 1950s. In 1947, he began to contribute essays to the Native Canadian newspaper, The Native Voice. While recovering from an on the job injury, he met the chief of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in the Vancouver area, Ira Dilworth. With Mr. Dilworth's encouragement, he told stories from his heritage on CBC radio. He then wrote a play about the culture of the First Nation's peoples, They were a Happy Singing People. ^[4] In 1961, he addressed the British Columbia Historical Association on Northwest Coast Native American art urging the preservation of Native American culture. ^[5]

Clutesi became one of British Columbia's first Native American writers to gain recognition. His Son of Raven, Son of Deer was one of the first books written about First Nation culture by a Native American. It was published in 1967, and was followed by his Potlatch in 1969 which portrayed the Native American ritual. In the late 1970s, he appeared in three movies-- Dreamspeaker, Nightwing, and Prophecy.^[6] He won a Canadian Film Award for his portrayal of a Native shaman in Dreamspeaker. ^[7] Mr. Clutesi also appeared in a number television programs.^[8] The University of Victoria granted him an Honorary Doctorate in Law in 1971.^[9] He was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1973.^[10] He died February 27, 1988 not long after his final tv appearance on the native tv show Spirit Bay where he played an elder who had to deal with university students coming in and upsetting an ancient native burial site. ^[11]

[edit] Filmography from IMDB

• Toby McTeague 1986
• Isaac Littlefeathers 1984
• Running Brave 1983
• Gentle Sinners 1983
• Kelly 1981
• Spirit of the Wind 1979
• Nightwing 1979
• Dreamspeaker 1979
• Prophecy 1979 ^[12]

[edit] TV series

• Spirit Bay

[edit] References