So I thought it would be interesting to look through the FARR's collection of the publication entitled Canadian Art. Thought it would be good to look throughout the years at what the art was that defined 'Canada'.
I pick out my very first magazine, and this is the inside cover. hmmm....
guardian angel of the north, eh? I be beggin' to differ... so would others. There is even a film that holds an very alternate perspective to what their role was in the north...
The Other Side of the Ledger: An Indian View of the Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company's 300th anniversary celebration was no occasion for joy among the people whose lives were tied to the trading stores. This film, narrated by George Manuel, president of the National Indian Brotherhood, presents the view of spokesmen for Canadian Indian and Métis groups. There is a sharp contrast between the official celebrations, with Queen Elizabeth II among the guests, and what Indians have to say about their lot in the Company's operations.
and another, fiction this time:
Mistress Madeleine
Part of the Daughters of the Country series, this film, set in the 1850s, unfolds against the backdrop of the Hudson's Bay Company's monopoly of the fur trade. In protest, some Métis engage in trade with the Americans. Madeleine, the Métis common-law wife of a Hudson's Bay Company clerk, is torn between loyalty to her husband and loyalty to her brother, a freetrader. Even more shattering, a change in company policy destroys Madeleine's happy and secure life, forcing her to re-evaluate her identity.
