Celebrating Indigenous Art in the Philippines: A Cultural Treasure

Indigenous art represents many celebrated artists and traditions. Art is a platform for indigenous peoples to share stories, express their spirituality and enjoy their culture! Indigenous-Canadian art started about 10, 000 years ago during the last ice age. Like all artistic tradition, Indigenous art has changed over the years. With the start of residential schooling and the Canadian government’s attempts to end Indigenous culture, many aboriginal artistic traditions were lost. Since WWII, there has been a renaissance in Indigenous arts, which incorporates both traditional and newer methods, themes and symbols. To discuss Indigenous Art in the Philippines, this essay will explore how art serves as an archive for the stories and traditions of Indigenous people and how it represents a way of preserving cultural identity through self-representation and visual storytelling.

“The reason why I do my tattoos right now is to preserve the culture and tradition of the stories of Indigenous people,” says Toby Sick, owner of Inkdigenous Tattoos. “Just like the archives of Canada, for indigenous people, art is our archive. Art is the way we shared our stories. This is the way we handed down the visualizations of storytelling to our kids. The stories of how we came to be, how we moved through all four seasons and how we should celebrate our roles in these traditions. That’s why our elders are so important to us. It’s because an elder can tell the story behind the art.” For Indigenous peoples, art isn’t just visually appealing but it’s also sentimental. Getting a traditional tattoo is a method of self-representation. It’s a way for Indigenous peoples to let others know where they come from and what they stand for. “Here at Inkdigenous, we incorporate culture and tradition into our art. Sometimes we tattoo traditional language and we also give people their cultural identity. For example, there’re different clan names like bear, eagle, turtle, wolf, and so many more. What we do is create a design in which that person can associate their spirit animal, spirit helper or clan name with. We create something that we can culturally identify,” says Sick.

Indigenous peoples have always created elements of artistic value. These elements had functional/traditional uses or spiritual significance. Artistic expression varies with nation or group but there are some similarities between regions. Using art to educate people about the different nations has helped to unify and preserve Indigenous tradition. “I encourage people to educate themselves in the different kinds of art. It’s one thing to get an Indigenous tattoo but it’s another thing to understand the meaning and significance behind it. There’s a lot of appropriation out there. A lot of people are getting stereotypical Indigenous tattoo designs that have no meaning and there’s no sharing of where people are from or which clan they represent. With everything that’s ever happened to us, there aren’t any questions like ‘How do you do your ceremonies?’

Different nations have different ways of doing things and we can educate each other through art on the different ideologies of the nations of people across Canada,” says Sick. Just like any art museum, Gallery Indigena acts as a mediator between different communities and individuals who share a love for art. Gallery Indigena is a small Toronto gallery offering a wide range of different aboriginal and Inuit Canadian art pieces — everything from totems to masks to prints! "It's a great venue for Indigenous artists to sell all kinds of traditional creations," says Richard Campbell who runs Toronto’s Gallery Indigena. "We specialize in Indigenous art by Toronto artists such as Maxine Noel and Michael Robinson. The owner of the gallery, Erla Boyer, began establishing relationships with Indigenous peoples and selling their carvings 40 years ago — she's almost 80 — and it just sort of snowballed from there."

Currently, many people are experiencing Indigenous culture through different arts such as sculptures, tattoos, dance, poetry and so much more. The carving of totem poles, masks, and other traditional genres has increased since the lifting of the potlatch ban by the Canadian government — a ban that abolished many First Nation ceremonies. Indigenous music has been introduced with the come up of artists like A Tribe Called Red. Those of Indigenous backgrounds continue to produce works that express concerns for society as a whole. “It’s an imperative time for the general state of how things are in Canada. All eyes are on Indigenous culture right now. It’s really interesting because we as Indigenous people do not separate arts and culture. This is something that is blood memory and something that we live with,” says Cynthia Lickers-Sage, head of the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance (IPAA). “Sharing our culture and our knowledge through the dialogues of art allows us to introduce people in an acceptable way,” she adds.