Composition : 99.99% or
Mintage : 100

Nerosiw Matcisowinby Raymond Weizineau

Part of the Atikamekw First Nation's artistic cooperative, artist Raymond Weizineau of Obedjiwan, Quebec, takes his inspiration from the culture and traditions of his nation.

''I have worked at my art for a long time, and from my youngestdays I saw my grandparents do it too. I have always been an observer of my surroundings, and that's where my passion for art began. I draw,I work with moose leather, and I sculpt. I am inspired by the ancientstories and legends that give details about life in the past. My grandfather, a significant inspiration to me, would take me into the woodsand tell me stories as a child. In my own mind, I imagined the life of the Atikamekw in another time. Today, I try to reproduce these talesin my drawings and paintings.''

As with many Inuit and First Nations cultures, the Atikamekw First Nation peoples living in the Mauricie and Lanaudière regions of Quebec pass on their teachings through storytelling. A major element of their oral tradition is tales from the animal world in a mythical time when animals could speak, characters could change shape at will, creatures could die and return to life and one being could inhabit multiple forms. Even today, the Atikamekw like to describe a person with the characteristics of an animal.In Nerosiw Matcisowin, we see the elements of this tradition as it has been passed down from generation to generation among the Atikamekw

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