Ellen Neel

Ellen Neel (1916–1966) was a Canadian and woodcarver and artist. Born in Alert Bay, British Columbia, she is credited as one of the only modern female carvers of her era; she advocated for First Nations carvers to introduce modern tools and themes in their work. Quotes If the art of my people is to take its rightful place alongside other Canadian art, it must be a living medium of expression. We, the Indian artists, must be allowed to create! We must be allowed to use new and modern techniques; new and modern tools; new and modern materials. For in every instance creative capacity has followed the discovery and use of better material. I do not mean that we should discard the old, only that we be allowed to use the new. Speaking at the 1948 Conference of Native Indian Affairs, as quoted in Roth Solen Incorporating Culture: How Indigenous People are Reshaping the Northwest Coast Art Industry 53 UBC Press 2018 9780774837415 and Hawker Ronald W. Tales of Ghosts: First Nations Art in British Columbia, 1922-61 UBC Press 2003 9780774850445 97 Our art continues to live, for not only is it part and parcel of us, it can be a powerful factor in combining the best part of Indian culture into the fabric of a truly Canadian art form. Speaking at the 1948 Conference of Native Indian Affairs, as quoted in Allen Laura J. 2024-03-11 Local Fabric: Mid-Century Modernisms, Textile and Fashion Design, and the Northwest Coast, 1940–1967 https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/13/2/52 Arts en 13 2 52 10.3390/arts13020052 2076-0752 In the beginning, the men of the Pacific Coast were born men and the totems were brown totems made of brown wood. With the coming of the white men came other white things also and among these white things was a white rooster In a story to accompany a totem pole commissioned by the White Spot restaurant chain, as quoted in Lederman Marsha 2017-02-20 Female First Nations artists get their chance to shine https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-globe-and-mail-female-first-nations/197796901/ 2026-05-18 The Globe and Mail L2, L4 [My grandfather] used to draw out a drawing and then make me copy it over and over. When my lines wavered, he would draw over them. He said I had to learn to do it his way. Sometimes I would cry. There was so much to learn. These drawings here—they were made when I was only ten or eleven years old—most are my grandfather’s but some are mine. This one is the Thunderbird-under-the sea . . . he has something like scales on . . . you can see my lines underneath and then where he went over the top to show me the right way. He had dozens of variations of the thunderbird and he called each one differently according to the pattern of the painting and carving. Neel on training with her grandfather, carver Charlie James, as quoted in Carolyn Butler Palmer 2008 Renegotiating Identity: “Primitivism” in 20th Century Art as Family Narrative https://muse.jhu.edu/content/crossref/journals/frontiers/v029/29.2-3.palmer.html Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies en 29 2-3 186–223 10.1353/fro.0.0018 1536-0334 External links Ellen Neel Category:Women artists Category:First Nations people Category:Women from Canada