Tag: how art highlights history and reality

To begin, the shared passages are Intergenerational Metis Storytelling with Mary and her Metis Grandma. In this post I, Rita Jasper—author of Mary and her Métis Grandma _{^{https://ritajasperart.com/category/mary-and-her-metis-grandma/}}—create a historically grounded portrait of Métis and Indigenous prairie life.

More specifically, these paragraphs connect directly to the story of the Red River carts and the buffalo (bison). With this in mind, I invite you to enjoy this post and my soon-to-be-published novel.

MODES of TRAVEL: Intergenerational Metis Storytelling, details Red River Carts

To understand this history, it helps to look at transportation. In Grandma’s time, people travelled in modern horse-drawn carriages. But before that, earlier Metis people used Red River carts.

Noteably, the carts were constructed entirely of wood, bound with rawhide and held together by wooden pins. As a result of this practical design, families could easily repair them. The wood rubbing against wood created a powerful squeaking sound that carried for miles across the prairie and rolling hills. Consequently, people often said, “…the squeaky creaking was the Red River ballad.”

From Mary and her Metis Grandma

In Grandma’s own words:

“Back in the day, you could hear those Red River wagons, or carts, creaking and creeping along for miles across those never-ending prairies and rolling hills. At the time, they were called ‘Red River carts’ because most Métis lived in the Red River area. Previously, the area was called Rupert’s Land.

I was told that those Red River carts creaked because they were made without metal nails. Yes, even the nails were made of wood. Later, in my generation, we had modern horse-drawn Democrat buggies.

By the end of the summer, we Métis had a lot of smoked and dried buffalo meat. Importantly, this food carried us through the winter.”

Intergenerational Metis Storytelling talks of Prairie Life, Travel with SCOUTS (1900s)

Meanwhile, Grandma told her stories with warmth and friendly humour. In addition to recounting history, she sprinkled in playful expressions like, “Saskabush… hee heeee”.

Grandmas’ Intergenerational Metis Storytelling: Saskatchewan, Traveling in wagons and relying on Scouts

…For instance, camping with a group of people who had travelled from different parts of Saskabush… hee heeee. You knew I meant Saskatchewan. At the time, almost everyone was travelling by wagon or cart with extra horses. Sometimes horses become lame and can’t pull anything heavy.

http://Photo by Gauravdeep Singh Bansal on Unsplash

Because of this, scouts were important because they would scooooot. After all, that’s what scouts do, scoot ahead to check that the trail or road conditions are passable for wagons. So, we tried to make the horses’ or oxen’s work as easy as possible because we didn’t want them to become injured on a rough trail. With that in mind, you can imagine how much we valued the scouts.

Buffalo, Bone China and Colonial Policies

However, the history of the prairies also carries deep sorrow. The government wanted to clear the prairies of buffalo primarily to gain more land for farmers. To achieve this goal, officials deliberately targeted Indigenous Peoples’ main food source. They felt it was necessary to exterminate the Indigenous people. Intergenerational Metis Storytelling, documents this history.

By destroying the bison herds Indigenous peoples’ ability to survive with any level of autonomy was also gone. Some consider the governments’ actions as attempted extermination of the people. Therefore, this was more than cultural oppression. But grandma’s storytelling itself is an act of resistance—preserving voice and memory.

BUFFALO SLAUGHTER


It was a deliberate government policy to subdue Indigenous Peoples by removing their food source. This is how Grandma recounts the history.

Grandma’s voice took on a menacing tone regarding the slaughter of the bison. Yet, through her storytelling, she actively resisted erasure and preserved memory, voice, and truth for future generations.

…However, the North American railways, with the government policies, had the intention to starve Indigenous Peoples. Specifically, the government decided to exterminate the buffalo because that would make the Indians dependent on the colonizing government. ^{1 ( https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/buffalo-hunt )}

Photographer Gauravdeep Singh Bansal https://unsplash.com/photos/green-grass-field-under-blue-sky-during-daytime-BYJGuUu6UkM

Some will tell you that in the 1870s, there was a steady demand for buffalo products, which encouraged massive slaughter in N. America. So, yes, there was a demand for bison products. But to say that’s why the buffalo population dwindled would be a lie.

BUFFALO BONE CHINA

Although many people know about the fur trade, fewer understand its connection to bone china. Years after Grandma passed, I watched Dana Claxton’s 1997 video. It was titled Buffalo Bone China. Only then did I fully understand what Grandma meant when she said,“There are buffalo bones in my tea set.”

Shot this photo at the Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery
https://reddeermuseum.com/

Additionally, I’ve seen pictures of buffalo bones piled as high as two-story buildings. ^{2 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bison_skull_pile_edit.jpg )} They were transported by train. The bones were shipped throughout Canada and the USA. ^{3( https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/lenox-inc )}

PERFORMANCE ART visual art with dramatic execution.

In Buffalo Bone China, Dana Claxton performs the devastating history of buffalo decimation. The black and white experimental video evokes the immense loss Indigenous Peoples experienced. ⁴ More specifically, it creatively details the historical use of crushed buffalo bones to make fine bone china ^{( https://www.danaclaxton.com/artwork/buffalo-bone-china )}. ⁵

By “creative”, during the performance, Claxton smashes porcelain into “itsy bittsy” pieces. With each strike of the mallet, she symbolizes repeated attacks on Indigenous lives. Eventually, Claxton pounds the china until the table beneath it collapses. The broken pieces crash to the floor. ^{( https://ahva.ubc.ca/events/event/dana-claxton-revisited/ )}

How Art Highlights History and Reality

UBC’s Department of Art History, Visual Art & Theory said this about Claxton. “Bison were slaughtered and their bones crushed and exported to England to make bone china. In the performance, Claxton smashes pieces of china and makes four bundles
^{( https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/health-and-medicine/sacred-bundles ) 6}, placing the bundles in a sacred circle, while a video of buffalo plays in the background. ‘Feeling the loss of the buffalo, the backbone of Plains spirituality and sustenance, the artist uses a rubber mallet to destroy plates and bowls. In this way, her act directly references the exploitation and near-extermination of the buffalo and her people. ^{( https://ahva.ubc.ca/events/event/dana-claxton-revisited/ ) 7}

COLONIAL POLICIES


Grandma continued her well-informed rant.

I must tell you somethin’ ‘suga plum’. Government policies had nothing to do with bone china; that was similar to a side hustle.
^{( https://www.metismuseum.ca/media/document.php/13888.Buffalo%20Bone%20Picking.pdf )}. ⁸ Instead, the purpose of killing off the bison was to conquer and control the Indians’ land at any cost. As a result, the buffalo paid the price, but so did all prairie people because it was the main source of food; this was especially true for the Indians.
One way the government did this was to encourage men to ride the trains and shoot buffalo after buffalo after buffalo. They riddled the prairies with bison bones. The land became a never ending grave yard. Ultimately, this would destroy the buffalo herds and cause severe suffering for N. America’s Indigenous Peoples.

In the final analysis, Dana Claxton’s art and Mary and her Metis Grandma both embody Intergenerational storytelling. When Grandma shares with Mary, history radiates from Grandma as though she is the sun or the moon. Through story, art, and truth, they intentionally pass knowledge from Elders to future generations.

I hope you found this post informative yet interesting, and will check back at ritajasperart.com
Thank you.
Rita Jasper

1. Foster, J. E., (March 7, 2006) Buffalo Hunt, Near Extinction and Recovery. Retrieved November 2021 from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/buffalo-hunt ↩︎
2. Wikipedia contributors. (2011, May 27). File: Bison skull pile edit.jpg – Wikipedia. Retrieved February 11th, 2026 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bison_skull_pile_edit.jpg ↩︎
3. Bone china manufacturing in North America began on a commercial scale around the turn of the 20th century, primarily led by Lenox. While England dominated production from the 1790s onward, American manufacturers, notably Lenox in Trenton, New Jersey, began producing high-quality, translucent bone china in the early 1900s
   Lenox, Inc. | Encyclopedia.com. (n.d.). Retrieved February 11th 2026 https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/lenox-inc ↩︎
4. Sadly, I cannot find the video anymore, but I found this image at Claxton’s website. Retrieved February 12, 2036 https://ahva.ubc.ca/events/event/dana-claxton-revisited/ ↩︎
5. Buffalo Bone China — Dana Claxton. (n.d.). Dana Claxton. Retrieved August 12, 2025. https://www.danaclaxton.com/artwork/buffalo-bone-china ↩︎
6. I don’t know if this is exactly what Claxton is referring to, but
   “… 
1) Sacred bundles are important cultural artifacts in many Indigenous American traditions, representing the spiritual power and medicine of their owners. These bundles, often wrapped in animal hides, contain a variety of objects that hold significant meaning, such as tobacco, feathers, and various ceremonial tools. They are believed to have supernatural abilities to aid in healing, attract love, …” 
Sacred bundles | Health and Medicine | Research Starters | EBSCO Research. (n.d.). EBSCO. Retrieved February 12, 2026 https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/health-and-medicine/sacred-bundles
2)
   2) “When we carry sacred items, we carry them with the recognition that everything in Creation has spirit, including the animals and plants, the rocks, the water, the moon and the stars. Even one feather of a bird has spirit. When we carry a feather in our bundle and use it for our personal prayers and in ceremony, we are calling on the spirit of that bird for help and guidance.”
   Sacred items and bundles – Anishnawbe Mushkiki. (2021, April 7). Anishnawbe Mushkiki. Retrieved February 12, 2026 https://mushkiki.com/programs-services/sacred-items-and-bundles/ ↩︎
7. Dana Claxton; Revisited – Department of Art History, Visual Art & Theory. (2021, August 16). Department of Art History Retrieved February 12, 2026 https://ahva.ubc.ca/events/event/dana-claxton-revisited/ ↩︎
8. Besides selling bison bones for manufacturing bone china, the bones were processed into fertilizers, sugar refining, etc. First Nations, Metis and settlers collected bones to sell to railroad agents and agents of eastern manufacturing companies in the US and Canada during the late 19th century. The bones were shipped to industrial centres like Chicago, Detroit, and St. Louis for processing.
   Barkwell, L., Montana Historical Society, & Foster, M. (1989). Buffalo Bone picking. In S. Breilmeier (Ed.), Thunderstorms and Tumbleweeds 1887-1987 East Blaine County (p. 25). Blaine County Centennial Book Committee. Retrieved February 11th, 2026
   https://www.metismuseum.ca/media/document.php/13888.Buffalo%20Bone%20Picking.pdf ↩︎