Lecture | The Art of Painting on Caribou Skins

An ancestral tradition passed down by Innuat women!

The Société historique de Montréal presents the lecture: The Art of Painting on Caribou Skins.

The making of objects using painted caribou skin is an age-old ancestral practice among the Innuat. The collections of some of the largest western ethnology museums have all been enriched by these little-known, ancient, and valuable objects.

Innuat women are the creators of these objects; from preparing the skins to sewing and, lastly, painting. Marilou Pagé will take you behind the scenes of this art form and explain how making these objects positions Innuat women as providers and protectors of their community. This practice, on clothing and accessories, is part of a virtuous circle between hunters, caribou, the master of the caribou, and women.

Lecturer: Marilou Pagé

Marilou Pagé is a non-native art historian specializing in the traditional Indigenous artistic production of Eastern North America during the colonial periods. She is also interested in the representation of Indigenous stereotypes in western art of the 16th to 18th centuries. She is currently a Masters candidate in Art History at UQAM.