Early Days: Indigenous Art at the McMichael

Early Days presents more than 100 works from the McMichael’s permanent collection spanning more than two centuries, from 18th-century regalia and trade items to Northwest coast masks, to the groundbreaking work of artists from the 1960s through the 1980s, and powerful contemporary pieces by leading voices today. The exhibition showcases work by Norval Morrisseau, Robert Houle, Carl Beam, Alex Janvier, Shelly Niro, Faye HeavyShield, Rebecca Belmore, Kent Monkman, Meryl McMaster, and many others. Their works—including painting, sculpture, printmaking, textile, and video— reveal the cultural continuity, resilience, and innovation of Indigenous artistic practices across generations.

Following a landmark international tour, Early Days returns to the McMichael, featuring new and never-before-exhibited works. This critically acclaimed exhibition is a defining exploration of the depth, diversity, and vitality of Indigenous art in Canada.

As the only museum in Canada devoted exclusively to Canadian art, the McMichael collection offers a unique platform to explore the evolving story of Indigenous art in Canada today. Early Days invites reflection on our relationships to land, to ancestors, and to one another, while confronting the complex tensions between past and present.

The exhibition is accompanied by an award-winning catalogue co-edited by Anishinaabe artist and scholar Bonnie Devine, McMichael Executive Director and Chief Curator Sarah Milroy, and Associate Curator of Collections and Research, John Geoghegan. Gathering insights from myriad Indigenous cultural stakeholders, informing us on everything from goose hunting techniques to the history of Northwest Coast mask making to the emergence of the Woodland style of painting and printmaking to the challenges of art making in the Arctic, the publication offers a wide-ranging lens into Indigenous artistic practices. Collectively, these voices illuminate the enduring vibrancy of Indigenous art across Turtle Island, past and present.