The University of Alberta (U of A), in response to allegations of racism and colonialism, is considering taking down a historic mural depicting Albertan pioneers. The Alberta History mural was given to the university in 1951 by Henry George Glyde, who was head of the art department, states the U of A website. It depicts two white Christian men, Catholic missionary Fr. Albert Lacombe and Methodist clergyman and missionary Rev. George MacDougall, teaching groups of indigenous people how to pray. Fort Edmonton is in the background, and churches and tipis are visible on the landscape. School administrators opened a public consultation in 2021, with options ranging from leaving the mural as it to destroying it, after learning there was much opposition from anti-colonial activists surrounding the vintage artwork. The school recieved complaints the scene is offensive and "racist" to indigenous people, including the fact they wear nothing but loincloths, and glorifies "colonialism," True North reported. The final consultation was held on Tuesday. .U of A Modern Languages Prof. Odile Cisneros told the publication the mural should be preserved, and those calling for its removal are misinformed about Alberta's history. He said Glyde’s style is derived from an earlier Mexican tradition that honours the indigenous people. “He is taking a cue from those artists who thought they were doing something revolutionary by actually representing Indigenous people in a public space where they had not been represented before,” said Cisneros. “There is more here than meets the eye, there is more here than racism in the mural,” she said. “Even if we were to admit that were the case, it’s a complex depiction. Every work of art has a degree of complexity that needs to be unpacked, and this is what we need to do, rather than label it a racist and destroy it.”Cisneros compared the inclination to destroy historical art to the cultural revolution in Mao’s China, Buddhist statues being toppled by the Taliban and when Nelson Rockerfeller destroyed the Man at the Crossroads mural. “I didn’t think this would ever happen in Canada. This is one of the most shocking things I have ever encountered in my career,” she said. Indigenous Fine arts Prof. Tanya Harnett condemns the notion of destroying the artwork. “Rather than destroying the mural, a didactic panel is needed; one that gives context to this complex subject matter,” said Harnett, according to True North. “The Glyde mural is a living document. The spirit of the individuals are manifested in the mural itself. As a First Nation person, I am truly upset to learn that this work could be destroyed. The important historical Indigenous events depicted in this mural should not be subject to erasure.”
The University of Alberta (U of A), in response to allegations of racism and colonialism, is considering taking down a historic mural depicting Albertan pioneers. The Alberta History mural was given to the university in 1951 by Henry George Glyde, who was head of the art department, states the U of A website. It depicts two white Christian men, Catholic missionary Fr. Albert Lacombe and Methodist clergyman and missionary Rev. George MacDougall, teaching groups of indigenous people how to pray. Fort Edmonton is in the background, and churches and tipis are visible on the landscape. School administrators opened a public consultation in 2021, with options ranging from leaving the mural as it to destroying it, after learning there was much opposition from anti-colonial activists surrounding the vintage artwork. The school recieved complaints the scene is offensive and "racist" to indigenous people, including the fact they wear nothing but loincloths, and glorifies "colonialism," True North reported. The final consultation was held on Tuesday. .U of A Modern Languages Prof. Odile Cisneros told the publication the mural should be preserved, and those calling for its removal are misinformed about Alberta's history. He said Glyde’s style is derived from an earlier Mexican tradition that honours the indigenous people. “He is taking a cue from those artists who thought they were doing something revolutionary by actually representing Indigenous people in a public space where they had not been represented before,” said Cisneros. “There is more here than meets the eye, there is more here than racism in the mural,” she said. “Even if we were to admit that were the case, it’s a complex depiction. Every work of art has a degree of complexity that needs to be unpacked, and this is what we need to do, rather than label it a racist and destroy it.”Cisneros compared the inclination to destroy historical art to the cultural revolution in Mao’s China, Buddhist statues being toppled by the Taliban and when Nelson Rockerfeller destroyed the Man at the Crossroads mural. “I didn’t think this would ever happen in Canada. This is one of the most shocking things I have ever encountered in my career,” she said. Indigenous Fine arts Prof. Tanya Harnett condemns the notion of destroying the artwork. “Rather than destroying the mural, a didactic panel is needed; one that gives context to this complex subject matter,” said Harnett, according to True North. “The Glyde mural is a living document. The spirit of the individuals are manifested in the mural itself. As a First Nation person, I am truly upset to learn that this work could be destroyed. The important historical Indigenous events depicted in this mural should not be subject to erasure.”
