NATIVE TRIBES. 11

WHAT MUST PRECEDE THE UNDERSTANDING OF
PRIMITIVE ART.

Professor Lips tells us that attention must be given to the mentality of a
people, to their spiritual conceptions, to their current notions of cause and effect,
if we desire to lift even a corner of the veil which conceals the secret of the
primitive arts which flourished among them. In this way only will a true
realization be gained of the imagination and artistic significance portrayed by
their manual skill, the products of which are otherwise frequently dismissed as
grotesque or childish.

To some readers this suggestion will appear exaggerated, to others it will
enhance their regret that a large proportion of these forms of art have been reck-
lessly and ignorantly destroyed or suffered to decay by those who misunderstood
both their significance and the skill shown in their execution. ‘The capacities
expressed in these arts are to all appearance dormant, if not lost, by the survivors
of a formerly numerous people; while the valuable qualities of accuracy, observa-
tion, and co-ordination of hand and eye in manual expression, with all that their
exercise means to the individual and in his value to the community, are apparently
also in abeyance. It is true that efforts are being made in some Indian Residential
Schools to revive interest among the pupils in these lost arts and crafts, but so
far the public give scant thought to either aspect of the subject.

Several years have passed since a valuable effort was made from the National
Museum at Ottawa to arouse more interest in Canadian prehistoric art. Mr.
Harlan I. Smith then wrote (‘‘ An Album of Prehistoric Art’) that “ It would
seem that the early Indian art of Canada might well serve as a suitable starting-
point for manufacturers in the production of distinctively Canadian designs,” and
among the plates which appear in this publication are many devoted to examples
in this Province. ‘“‘ The Indians,” he writes, “had a highly developed realistic
and conventional art, largely representing animal forms”; and he draws atten-
tion to its simplicity, freedom of form, and other interesting and artistic values.

Much trouble has been taken to ensure accuracy in these pages, but inevitably
differences of opinion exist among authorities concerning some of the details
mentioned, besides those due to the intricacies of the subject, which include varia-
tions in the spelling of tribal and other names. Nowhere are conditions ever
static; variations may be slight or slow but are always active. Consequently,
observations made even at short intervals are often diverse, while the personal
equation of the observer is liable to affect the impressions he receives. Men of
equal standing, therefore, may present reports or express opinions which do not
always tally, but which were correct in respect of the circumstances under which
they were formed.

The pronunciation and spelling of tribal languages present so many difficulties
to those untrained in these guttural dialects that wherever possible their use has
been avoided by intention. “The word “shaman” (said to be of Mongolian
origin), still unfamiliar to some ears, is now in world-wide use instead of
“medicine man.”

THE CORRECTION OF CERTAIN COMMON INACCURACIES.

The use of the designation “ Indian,” though generally employed, is incorrect.
It originated with Christopher Columbus, who, on discovering the coast of South
America, imagined he had arrived instead in the East Indies. Hence his applica-
tion to the tribes he encountered of an inaccurate description, overlong retained.
This fact explains the title selected for this Bulletin.