Teresa Marshall Facts for Kids

Teresa Marshall was born in 1962 in Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada. She is a talented artist who creates sculptures and art installations. She also writes poetry and plays. Teresa is from the Mi'kmaq First Nation and grew up on the Millbrook Reserve and a military base. This means she experienced two different cultures: Mi'kmaq from her mother's side and Canadian from her father's. Her art often explores how racism and unfair power structures have affected Indigenous peoples. Because she grew up in both worlds, her work helps people understand both Indigenous and non-Indigenous views on her community's history.

Education
Artworks
Exhibitions
Collections
Honors and awards
See also

Education

Teresa's father was in the military, so she went to school on military bases. During the summer, she would go back to the Millbrook Reserve. This unique experience allowed her to learn about both Indigenous and non-Indigenous ways of life. These different perspectives are a big part of what she shows in her art.

After high school, Teresa studied art at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD). Later, she also studied theater at Dalhousie University.

Artworks

Hide and Seek The Souls You Keep Locked Away in God's Closet

This artwork was part of Teresa Marshall's show called Red Rising Hoods. It features a church window with nine small coffins inside. When these coffins are opened, you see red figures. These red figures represent Mi'kmaq people who were killed for money during a difficult time in history. Shutters hang over the window and close. This shows how the Canadian government might have forgotten or ignored the harm done to First Nations people.

Elitekey

This art piece was shown at the National Gallery of Canada in an exhibition called Land, Spirit, and Power. For this artwork, Teresa made three statues. They represent the lack of communication between the Canadian Army and the Mohawk people in 1990.

The installation includes three concrete statues. One is a Canadian flag, half-raised, with the maple leaf cut out. Diagonal to it is a figure wearing traditional Native clothing, but it has no body parts. Between these two statues is a canoe. For the Mohawks, a canoe was a symbol of hope. However, during the conflict in 1990, it became something used against them. Teresa wanted to show how the Canadian government treated First Nations people unfairly. That's why the flag statue is half-raised with a missing maple leaf.

Meta Sage

The Meta Sage is a large sculpture that looks like a giant thread spool, about four feet tall. The sculpture includes the spool, four needles, and thread. The spool is made from yellow cedar wood and tobacco. The four needles are each three feet long and made from different stones. These stones are black granite, red sandstone, white marble, and yellow limestone. Thread connects the spool and the four needles, which are arranged in a circle around the spool.

Teresa explains that this sculpture was inspired by a Mi'kmaq legend. This legend tells the story of how people migrated. The spool was carved to look like the medicine wheels described in the story. The sculpture also tells an important story about women. A spool was an object women used every day for their work. It symbolizes the history of these women and the conversations they shared while working with different materials.

Bering Strait Jacket

The Bering Strait Jacket is a clothing art piece Teresa Marshall created in 1993. It is a dark blue, pin-striped jacket, size 42. The sleeves are very long and have buckles, like a strait jacket. Inside the jacket, on the silk lining, there is a passage from the 1752 Indian Treaty. This treaty was made to stop the killing of Mi'kmaq people for their land. Before the treaty, settlers invaded Mi'kmaq land and were ordered to kill them to take control. Even after the treaty, settlers continued to take over Mi'kmaq land and disrupt their way of life. The restraint buckles Teresa added show how settlers historically restricted and tried to change Mi'kmaq and other Native groups.

However, Teresa also wanted the jacket to have a second meaning. The jacket looks similar to those worn by people in power and those Europeans would give as gifts to the Mi'kmaq people. Mi'kmaq women would take these jackets and decorate them with beads and other traditional designs. They would remake the jackets with Indigenous art and sell them back to the Europeans. This was a way to show their strength and resistance against the culture forced upon them.

Exhibitions

Red Rising Hoods: Cape Breton University Art Gallery (2018)
75 Years of Collecting: First Nations: Myths and Realities: Vancouver Art Gallery (2006)
Recollect: Vancouver Art Gallery (1999-2000)
Topographies: Aspects of Recent B.C. Art: Vancouver Art Gallery (1996-1997)
Band Strands: Thunder Bay Art Gallery (1997)
Land, Spirit, Power: The National Gallery of Canada (1992)

Collections

Honors and awards

Eiteljorg Contemporary Art Fellowship (After The Storm) 2001

Teresa Marshall facts for kids

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