Carmen Robertson

File:Carmen Robertson.jpg

Cameron Robertson was born in Fort Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan. She is currently a Lakota and Scottish professor at the University of Regina. She has been teaching there since 2006. Before she came to the University of Regina, she worked at the First Nations University of Canada. She taught Indian Fine Arts and Indian Art History. She was also the department head of Fine Arts at the First Nations University of Canada. Cameron's interests are focused around Indigenous people, and artist Norval Marrisseau in particular.

Cameron has received her BA in Liberal Arts at Portland Stage University in 1989, her MA in Art History at UVic in 1993, her MEd in Aboriginal Adult Education at Brock in 2001, and her PhD in Educational Research at the University of Calgary in 2005.

Cameron has written a book called Seeing Red. This book was co-written with Mark Cronlund Anderson. This book was published by Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press in 2011 and has received awards for its accomplishments.

Synopsis: “Seeing Red is a groundbreaking study of how Canadian English-language newspapers have portrayed Aboriginal peoples from 1869 to the present day. It assesses a wide range of publications on topics that include the sale of Rupert’s Land, the signing of Treaty 3, the North-West Rebellion and Louis Riel, the death of Pauline Johnson, the outing of Grey Owl, the discussions surrounding Bill C-31, the “Bended Elbow” standoff at Kenora, Ontario, and the Oka Crisis. The authors uncover overwhelming evidence that the colonial imaginary not only thrives, but dominates depictions of Aboriginal peoples in mainstream newspapers. The colonial constructs ingrained in the news media perpetuate an imagined Native inferiority that contributes significantly to the marginalization of Indigenous people in Canada. That such imagery persists to this day suggests strongly that our country lives in denial, failing to live up to its cultural mosaic boosterism.”

Awards:

The Saskatchewan Book Award for Scholarly Writing (2011)

First Peoples’ Writing (2011)

Regina Book of The Year (2011)

Reviews: “A wonderfully dense and rich historical work that situates itself equally amongst journalism history, colonial histories in the Americas, and scholarship on representations of minorities and race in Canadian media.”

- Candis Callison, Canadian Literature

“Seeing Red argues that Canadians have little hope of ever truly seeing aboriginal people, much less reconciling with them, as long as the nation’s media continue to construct them in demeaning unidimensional ways.”

- Mary-Ellen Kelm, Simon Fraser University, American Historical Review

Cameron also wrote Clearing a Path: New Ways of Seeing Traditional Indigenous Art. This book was published by Regina: Canadian Plains Research Centre in 2009.

Synopsis:“Clearing a Path: New Ways of Seeing Traditional Indigenous Art is edited by First Nations University of Canada scholar Carmen Robertson and noted Saskatchewan Métis artist and scholar, Sherry Farrell Racette. In 2005, as part of the province's centennial celebrations, the Saskatchewan Arts Board contracted Carmen Robertson and Sherry Farrell Racette to curate an exhibition which would bring together a diverse group of contemporary artists working in traditional Indigenous media. The exhibition catalogue includes photographs of the works and brief biographies of the 21 participating artists. Artists' statements for many of the pieces provide unique insight into the artistic process and the artist's connection to his or her history and traditions. In two introductory essays, Robertson and Farrell Racette explore the history of traditional artists and their art: the criminalization of Indigenous arts and ceremonies, the subsequent loss of culture through colonization and more recently, the struggle to have their work considered art rather than handicraft.”

Cameron has also written several articles.

Articles and Book Chapters

• Indian Princess/Indian Squaw: Representations of Indigenous Women in Canada’s Printed Press,” Culture and Power: Identity and Identification, Angel Mateos-Aparicio Martin-Albo & Eduardo de Gregorio-Godeo (eds.) (Newcastle, UK: Cambridge Scholars Press, 2013). 129-146.

• "Thunderbirds and Concepts of Transformation in the Art of Norval Morrisseau." Journal of Canadian Art History, vol. 33, 2 (2012): 53-70.

• "Utilizing PEARL to Teach Indigenous Art History: A Canadian Example." Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, vol. 41,1 (2012): 60-66.

• “Imaginary Citizens: The White Paper and the Whitewash in the Press,” Narratives of Citizenship: Indigenous and Diasporic Peoples Unsettle the Nation State, A Fleischmann, N. Van Styvendale & C. McCarroll (eds.) (Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 2011). 233-262.

• “On the Road with Bob,” Bob Boyer: His Life’s Work. Lee-Ann Martin (ed). (Regina: MacKenzie Art Gallery, 2008): 191-209.

• “Trickster in the Press” Media History, Vol. 14:1 (2008): 72-93.

• “Body Politics: The Art of Norval Morrisseau” Revue d’art canadienne/Canadian Art Review, Vol. 32,1-2 (2007): 70-78.

• With Angela Weber. “Teaching Indian Art History: A Conversation about Post-Secondary Indigenous Art Education” Third Text Vol. 21, 3 (2007): 341-356.

• With Mark Anderson. “The ‘Bended Elbow News,' Kenora, 1974: How a Small-town Newspaper Promoted Colonialism.” American Indian Quarterly, vol. 31:3 (2007): 410-440. “The Reel Norval Morrisseau: An Analysis of The National Film Board of Canada’s Paradox of Norval Morrisseau.” International Journal of Learning, Vol. 11. Fall (2005): 315-321.