Emblem of the anishinaabe people

Emblem of the Anishinaabe people

Piece description from the artist

This is a symbol I often see in my area so did a little research! "According to Anishinaabeg tradition, and from records of wiigwaasabak (birch bark scrolls), the people migrated from the eastern areas of North America, and from along the East Coast. In old stories, the homeland was called Turtle Island. This comes from the idea that the universe, the Earth, or the continent of North America are all sometimes understood as being the back of a great turtle, a mysterious natural consciousness. The Anishinaabeg oral history considers the Anishinaabe peoples as descendents of the Abenaki people and refers to them as the "Fathers". Another Anishinaabeg oral history considers the Abenaki as descendents of the Lenape (Delaware), thus refers to them as "Grandfathers". However, Cree oral traditions generally consider the Anishinaabeg as their descendants, and not the Abenakis. A number of complementary origin concepts exist within the oral traditions of the Anishinaabeg. According to the oral history, seven great miigis (radiant/iridescent beings in human form) appeared to the Anishinaabe peoples in the Waabanakiing (Land of the Dawn, i.e. Eastern Land) to teach the people about the midewiwin life-style. One great miigis was too spiritually powerful and would kill people in the Waabanakiing whenever they were in its presence. This being later returned to the depths of the ocean, leaving the six great miigis to teach the people. Each of the six miigis established separate doodem (clans) for the people. Of these doodem, five clan systems appeared: i) Awaazisii (Bullhead), ii) Baswenaazhi (Echo-maker, i.e., Crane), iii) Aan'aawenh (Pintail Duck), iv) Nooke (Tender, i.e., Bear), and v) Moozoonii (Little Moose). Later a sixth was added. vi) Waabizheshi (Marten). After founding the doodem, the six miigis returned to the depths of the ocean as well. Some oral histories surmise that if the seventh miigis had stayed, it would have established the Animikii Thunderbird doodem." Source: Wikipedia

Other works by Bruce Stanfield

About Bruce Stanfield

Sudbury, On, Canada

New Zealand born, Bruce has had a number of creative endeavors, including music, photography, writing and automobile customizing. Painting has always been a mainstay throughout his life.
Stanfield was a musician in his early twenties, playing in garage bands and recording local bands for a record label he co-founded called “Suicide city”. In his late twenties and early thirties he was an award winning photographer, with Hamilton city’s largest “drive in” studio focusing on commercial and industrial work. Later he wrote articles and supplied photographs to national and international magazines. In his mid thirties Bruce worked on cruise ships as an entertainer and host. He now is a professional actor and full time artist

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