By Ahmed Abdelsalam
Travel writer Rory Buccheri traced the footsteps of the Group of Seven, Canada's famed early 20th-century artist collective, from Ottawa's urban galleries to the wilderness of Algonquin Park in Ontario. The journey highlighted both the iconic landscapes that inspired painters like Tom Thomson and the Indigenous histories that predate and coexist with those artistic narratives.
Ottawa's Indigenous Foundations and Art Collections
The tour began in Ottawa during the mid-May Canadian Tulip Festival. The city's Anishinaabe name derives from the waterfalls and river that were once vital hunting grounds for the Algonquin First Nation. The Canadian Museum of History, designed by Anishinaabe architect Douglas Cardinal in a sinuous curve evoking Turtle Island, and the National Gallery of Canada across the river house major Group of Seven works, including Thomson's "The Jack Pine."
Algonquin Park: Canoe Routes and Contested Memorials
In Algonquin Park, interlinked lakes and portages lead to ancient woodland and beaver dams. On Canoe Lake, the Tom Thomson Memorial Cairn features a totem pole erected by Camp Ahmek pupils in the 1930s, a marker biographer Roy MacGregor calls "incongruous" for mimicking West Coast Indigenous styles unrelated to local Anishinaabe nations. Christine Luckasavitch, an Omàmìwininì and Madaoueskarini Anishinaabe advocate, noted that her family was forcibly removed from the park in 1893 when it operated as a lumbering site.
Reclaiming Indigenous Artistic Traditions
Luckasavitch emphasized that First Peoples painted with red ochre on rocks and crafted quartz and granite tools expressing deep connection to the land. A birchbark canoe built by Algonquin canoe maker Chuck Commanda from park materials launched on Lake Opeongo in summer 2023, marking the first such vessel in a century. Kevin Eshkawkogan, President and CEO of the Indigenous Tourism Association of Ontario, stated that while the Group of Seven painted landscapes without people, First Peoples have stewarded those lands for millennia and continue to do so.
McMichael Canadian Art Collection and Contemporary Dialogue
The Group of Seven's largest collection resides at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg. Curator John Geoghegan said the artists were "on the frontline of building a unique Canadian identity, distinct from being part of the Commonwealth." The gallery now displays historic works alongside contemporary Indigenous art, such as Kent Monkman's Two-Spirit alter ego Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, and exhibitions like "Early Days" that bring Truth and Reconciliation Commission conversations into the art space.
Professional Native Indian Artists Inc. and Living Culture
Norval Morrisseau (Copper Thunderbird), a founding member of the 1970s collective Professional Native Indian Artists Inc. — dubbed "The Indian Group of Seven" by Canadian media — approached landscapes differently, reclaiming visuals First Nations were prevented from creating freely. At Mādahòkì Farm between Algonquin Park and Ottawa, cultural objects are restored to everyday use: a teepee hosts gatherings, a ceremonial space serves community members, and Ojibwe Spirit Horses roam. Pikwakanagan First Peoples artist Stephanie Sarazin shared stories of dance and pow-wows, illustrating thriving Algonquin narratives in both urban and non-urban landscapes.
