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Dr. Gerald McMaster
Equality fight dominates life's work
By Cheryl Petten
Windspeaker Writer
Dr. Gerald McMaster has established himself as a contemporary
artist, has played a role in the creation of two national museums
and has become one of the first Native people to write authoritatively
about Native art.
On March 31, McMaster
received a National Aboriginal Achievement Award in the arts
and culture category in recognition of his work over the past
30 years.
McMaster is a member of Alberta's Siksika Nation but was born
on Red Pheasant First Nation in southwestern Saskatchewan. He
was fresh out of high school when he was introduced to the world
of Native art. Hired by the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural College
(now the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre) in Saskatoon, he
worked alongside Native artist and poet Sarain Stump.
"Together he and I, for about a year, travelled throughout
the province of Saskatchewan, going for a week at a time to Indian
schools and talking. Not only talking, but getting young students
to create and to try and copy and then to understand this whole
world of Native art," McMaster recalled.
As he and Stump taught the children about ...
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