× Expand Rosemary Gilliat Eaton, “Two daughters of fishermen Ungava.” The girl on the right has been identified as Susie Sarah Eve Etok, in Kangiqsualujjuaq, George River, Que. (© Library and Archives Canada; reproduced with the permission of Library and Archives Canada. Library and Archives Canada/Rosemary Gilliat Eaton fonds/e010835968)

Paul Seesequasis wasn’t sure what to expect three years ago when he began sharing archival images of Indigenous people on his social media feeds. News coverage at the time was dominated by dark stories of past wrongs, like abuse at residential schools, and the saga of missing or murdered women.

Seesequasis, a Plains Cree journalist and cultural activist based in Saskatoon, wanted to create a more empowering storyline about the resistance and resilience of First Nation, Métis and Inuit communities.

He began searching through archival collections kept by museums and community groups, and eventually private collections, where he discovered myriad images of people living their lives – working, laughing with friends, and otherwise going about their daily routines.

Often there were no names or notes to explain who these people were or what they were doing. He soon learned that many of the photos, which dated from the 1920s through to the 1970s, had never been seen by people in the communities they documented.

“It began a process of naming,” says Seesequasis, who figures he has posted at least a few thousand images. “People would respond on Facebook, or sometimes on Twitter, and say: ‘That’s my uncle,' or 'that’s my grandfather.’ And then, sometimes, a discourse would begin on Facebook, where other people would pipe in and give more of the background.”

× Expand Paul Seesequasis stands with Rosemary Gilliat Eaton’s “Portrait of Inuit artist Napachie Pootoogook, Cape Dorset, Nunavut between Aug. 24 and Oct, 3, 1960” at Touchstones Nelson. (photo by Stephanie Campbell; Pootoogook image © Library and Archives Canada; reproduced with the permission of Library and Archives Canada. Library and Archives Canada/Credit: Rosemary Gilliat Eaton/Rosemary Gilliat Eaton fonds/e010799884)

This visual reclamation, and the stories the images evoked, surprised Seesequasis, who had never tried a project like this before. “It’s been a process of discovery,” he says. “I was pretty wet behind the ears when I went into it.”

He is well aware of the critical role that timing played in making the project possible. More and more archival collections have been digitized in recent years for ease of public access and, of course, social media offers almost instant reach into vast community networks. “This wouldn’t have happened 20 years ago,” he says.

His posts began to attract attention beyond Indigenous communities. That led to a deal with Knopf Canada, which will publish selected photos next year in a book with the working title, Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun. He has also organized a gallery exhibition he hopes will tour to different venues over the coming year.

× Expand Kootenay Lake First Nations, Summer 1922. Phyllop Peter and his wife in the front boat with two of the Hunter girls in rear (Jean, Lillian and Edna). The family had a pleasure boat named The Three Sisters. The family lived in Nelson from the 1890s to the 1940s. (Hunter Family Album Hunter-001-050a, Touchstones Nelson Museum and Archive)

The show got its start at the invitation of Arin Fay, the curator of the Touchstones Nelson Museum of Art and History. Titled Indigenous Archival Photo Project, it's on view in the British Columbia Interior city until May 27.

The exhibition includes photos of people from the region, the traditional territories of the Sinixt (Lakes) and Ktunaxa (Kutenai) peoples. It also features touching images from the 1950s and early 1960s taken by Rosemary Gilliat Eaton, a photojournalist who sold her work to magazines like Weekend and The Beaver (now Canada’s History).

× 1 of 2 Expand Rosemary Gilliat Eaton, “Women participating in the unloading of a Hudson Bay Company barge at Apex, Frobisher Bay, N.W.T. now Iqaluit, Nunavut. (© Library and Archives Canada; reproduced with the permission of Library and Archives Canada. Library and Archives Canada/Rosemary Gilliat Eaton fonds/e010975291) × 2 of 2 Expand Rosemary Gilliat Eaton, “Alma Houston and Kingwatsiak Cape Dorset, Nunavut.”(© Library and Archives Canada; reproduced with the permission of Library and Archives Canada. Library and Archives Canada/Rosemary Gilliat Eaton fonds/e010975350) Prev Next

Seesequasis praises the quality of Eaton’s images and her ability to capture people in a relaxed state. “She was an outside eye, but one, it seems, with not only a keen perception for a good photograph but also an ability to be unobtrusive,” he writes in his curatorial statement.

Despite the many hardships brought by colonialism, he says her photographs "reflect functioning, hard-working people and communities, mirroring the integrity of previous Indigenous generations. These are not victims.” ■

Paul Seesequasis: Indigenous Archival Photo Project is on view at the Touchstones Nelson Museum of History and Art in Nelson, B.C., from Feb. 24 to May 27, 2018.