Daphne Odjig Stamps

In February of 2011, Canada Post will be releasing three stamps using works by acclaimed First Nations artist, Daphne Odjig. This Art Canada stamp issuing includes three paintings representative of her powerful style: Pow-wow Dancer (1978, acrylic on canvas), Spiritual Renewal (1984, acrylic on canvas) and Pow-wow (1969, acrylic on board).  

A Canadian artist of Aboriginal ancestry, Daphne Odjig was born September 11, 1919, and raised on the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve on Manitoulin Island (Lake Huron), Ontario. Her father, Dominic Odjig, and her grandfather, Chief Jonas Odjig, were Potawatomi, descended from the great Chief Black Partridge. Her mother, Joyce Peachy, was an English war bride. Her family migrated north and settled in Wikwemikong after the War of 1812. Odjig moved to her current home of Anglemont, British Columbia in 1976. It was at this time that she really hit her stride as a painter. She went on to receive an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Laurentian University in 1982, an Honorary Doctorate of Law from the University of Toronto in 1985, and an Honorary Doctorate of Education from Nipissing University in 1997. In 2007, Odjig received the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts.  

According to Canada Post, the decision to create three stamps for this edition of the series was made for both aesthetic and practical reasons. In addition to providing collectors with three unique examples of Native Canadian art on stamps, the U.S. and International stamps fulfilled necessary operational requirements.