Clockwise from bottom left, visitors take in the show, Roxanne Richards remembering a photograph, project co-creators Marcel Petit and Paul Seesequasis, and a picture of James Brady and some of his pictures. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW staff)

By Angela Brown

Allen Sapp Gallery

Métis photographer and activist James Brady highlighted at Battlefords show

Jun 29, 2022 | 2:15 PM

The work of prolific photographer and renowned Métis leader and advocate James Brady is on display in the Battlefords.

In “Enclosing Some Snapshots: The Photography of James Brady, The Saskatchewan Photos,” Brady reflected the history of northern Cree and Métis communities from the 1930s to the ’60s. The project is currently on display at the Allen Sapp Gallery in North Battleford.

Brady documented life with his camera until the time of his mysterious disappearance with his friend Absolom Halkett near La Ronge in Northern Saskatchewan in 1967.

Marcel Petit, who co-created the Brady exhibit with Paul Seesequasis, spoke during the recent reception at the gallery.

“I think the biggest thing about Enclosing Some Snapshots, this exhibit was bringing Jim Brady back home,” he said.

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Petit said as a young person he read the book The One-And-A-Half Men: The Story of Jim Brady and Malcolm Norris, by Murray Dobbin, and became interested in all the photos that Brady took.

“He was a prolific photographer,” Petit said. “Everywhere he went he took pictures. I said, Everyone needs to see these pictures, and Saskatchewan needs to see these pictures, because most of the pictures were from Saskatchewan.”

Petit, who is himself a photographer and filmmaker, said he loved the stories that Brady’s pictures tell. He added people taking in the show might also see some of their aunts, uncles and great grandparents, “and pictures maybe they have never seen before” in Brady’s work.

The show features about 60 photographs by Brady as well as a documentary about his life called: “In the Footsteps of the Métis Leader,” co-directed by Petit.

Writer and journalist Paul Seesequasis said he began work on this exhibit of Brady’s life, based on his interest in his photographs.

“I knew his connection with Cree and Métis on the Saskatchewan side, so I really wanted to focus on the part of his life, his photography,” he said. “There has been quite a bit of writing about his politics and his activism but almost nothing on his photography. That was my inspiration, to pay tribute to him as an artist, as a photographer and to focus on that.”

Seesequasis said Brady was known for his decades of political activism within the Indigenous community, his work as a surveyor and an educator. He was also an ardent photographer.

“What he intended to do with those snapshots we’ll never know for sure, but he was very meticulous…,” he said. “This is really the first exhibit ever of his photography. For me, that was really important to do that, to see that happen.

Seesequasis added he hopes people can take in the show as a reflection of part of Saskatchewan’s history.

“It’s a history we often don’t get enough of in schools at this point, especially for a lot of Cree and Métis students who may not know this history and of the generation before them, of how strong the people were in the communities,” he said. “I hope the photographs help people see that side of history.”

Roxanne Richards, a Prince Albert Indigenous studies teacher who attended the local show, said her family was friends with Brady when he was alive, so she feels a special connection with his work.

“My parents taught me a lot about Métis history and about what Jim Brady did,” she said. “I always ask my students at the beginning of the year: ‘Do you know who Louis Riel is? They say, Yes. Do you know who Gabriel Dumont is? Yes. Do you know Jim Brady? Who? So I say, Give me five months, and you are going to know who Jim Brady is and why it’s important.”

The exhibit continues at the Allen Sapp Gallery until July 10.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW