News Release

ANNOUNCING VIRTUAL MUSEUM OF CANADA PROPERTY THAT IS THE FIRST EVER WEBSITE DEDICATED TO NATIVE CHILDREN'S ART, HISTORY AND CULTURE OF THE MID 20TH CENTURY

Unlimited Digital launches the "Drawing on Identity: The Inkameep Day School & Art Colection" Website at the Virtual Museum of Canada.

The Osoyoos Museum VMC exhibit presents the story of the Inkameep Day School and Art Collection. Through art and drama Okanagan children and their teacher, Order of Canada recipient Mr. Anthony Walsh, recorded an extraordinary chapter in Canadian history (1931-1942). Together they gained national and international fame for their productions that focused on their Okanagan identities and experiences as aboriginal children growing up in interwar Canada. The site documents the beginnings of the school 1914, its rise to fame, its collapse, and the rediscovery of the art, concluding with the inclusion of Inkameep art in the feature exhibition Drawing of the World: From Masters to Hipsters at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2003. The site is of contemporary importance to Canadians and aboriginal peoples as it features new audio and video captured of former students recollecting their positive experiences at the Inkameep Day School.

"This is the first website completely dedicated to Native children's art, history and culture. It showcases an unparalleled exhibition of Native children's art creating during the mid-20th century, and will be of interest to a general audience as well as researchers who are looking at the role of children in cultural history."
- Andrea Walsh, Visual Anthropologist at the University of Victoria and Lead Researcher for the Inkameep Day School VMC website.

You are invited to experience the electronic invitation to the exhibit, at www.unlimiteddigital.ca/inkameep_ecard.

Visit the exhibit located at the Virtual Museum to Canada Website: www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Inkameep/

The virtual exhibition was made possible by the Virtual Museum of Canada, Canadian Heritage Information Network, Osoyoos Museum, Osoyoos Indian Band, University of Victoria, Inkameep Desert and Heritage Centre, British Columbia Museums Association and Unlimited Digital Communications. Special thanks to the Knowledge Network, CBC Radio, APTN, and the Royal British Columbia Museum. This exhibition would also like to acknowledge Jane Stelkia, Irene Bryson and Modesta Betterton and the families of Inkameep Day School students for their contributions to the site.

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For more information, please contact:
Wayne Clark
E: wayne@unlimiteddigital.ca
T. 204.283.7535
F. 604.688.1203