Professional Native Indian Artists Incorporated

In 1971, Daphne Odjig’s print shop and gallery, Odjig Indian Prints of Canada,had become a gathering place in Winnipeg for spirited artistic and political discussion.  She, along with artists Jackson Beardy, Eddy Cobiness, and Joseph Sanchez regularly met to talk about their professional aspirations, their experiences as outsiders in the Canadian gallery establishment, and their encounters with institutional barriers. The general attitude in Canada at the time was that Indigenous art consisted primarily of handicrafts and ethnographic artifacts and should be most appropriately displayed in a natural history museum. They discussed strategies for bringing about change and to this end they invited other Indigenous artists across the country to join in the quest for self-determination and professional advancement. Odjig’s courage and determination were huge motivating factors and three additional artists, Alex Janvier from Alberta, and Carl Ray and Norval Morrisseau from Ontario, responded to the call. The seven members formalized their association in 1972 as Professional Native Indian Artists Inc.  Shortly after, following a number of successful professional group exhibitions of their work, they were dubbed the Indian Group of Seven by the Winnipeg Free Press.