Goyce Kakegamic

Goyce Kakegamic

Goyce Kakegamic (1948-2021) - Artist Biography

Cree artist, Goyce Kakegamic, was born in Sandy Lake, Ontario in 1948. His sister was married to the Ojibwa artist Norval Morrisseau who, after successfully selling his work in Toronto and elsewhere, encouraged teenage Goyce and his brother Joshim to try their hands at painting.

Over the years, another Cree artist, Carl Ray, as well as Jackson Beardy, Alex Janvier and Daphne Odjig mentored the young men. After learning printmaking techniques at Open Studio in Toronto, Goyce and his brothers Joshim and Henry Kakegamic opened the Triple K Co-Operative, a silk screening company in Red Lake. Their intention was to represent themselves (as well as other native artists like Barry and Paddy Peters, Saul Williams and Norval Morrisseau) on their own terms, rather than being dependent upon the needs and expectations of non-Indigenous publishers. Triple K was modelled after Daphne Odjig's company - Indian Prints of Canada Ltd. which she set up in 1970.

Shortly after opening, Triple K decided to only produce limited edition silk screen prints from drawings not only designed specifically by the artists for the silk-screening process but that involved the artist in the actual process. The production of these high-quality prints made the new "Woodland" imagery affordable and available to prospective buyers across the country. Goyce was represented in the England/Germany tour of Woodland and Indian Art in 1970. He and his brother Josh had a major exhibition at Toronto's Aggregation Gallery in 1974. Since then his work has been exhibited regularly and is represented in the McMichael Collection and the Mohawk Institute in Brantford.

Apart from his leadership and artistry, Kakegamic will also be remembered as a force in the world of education. Kakegamic was a teacher, principal and director of education through his career. He was also a part of major Indigenous educational initiatives over the last 50 years, such as the establishment of the Pelican Falls School in Sioux Lookout, Dennis Franklin Cromarty School in Thunder Bay and Oshki-Pimache-O-Win: The WenJack Education Institute. Kakegamic was also a key player in the establishment of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine in the early 2000s, advocating for dual campuses in both Thunder Bay and Sudbury, Ont.