Staking Land Claims, curated by Patricia Deadman, was the first in a series of exhibitions by Aboriginal curators at The Banff Centre. In it, four Aboriginal artists explored past and present relationships between the land and its dwellers. They addressed issues of cultural perception, tradition, memory, ecological fate and identity. Their concerns bridge all cultures and ask every person to stake a claim to a shared responsibility for the land and its ecology.

Patricia Deadman was born in Ohsweken, Ontario and currently resides in Toronto. She is Tuscarora and was raised in Woodstock, Ontario. Patricia received her Fine Art Diploma from Fanshawe College, London in 1986 and completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Windsor in 1988. She participated in the photography residency at The Banff Centre in 1991. She has exhibited throughout Canada and the United States since 1986.

Patricia Deadman's profile page

Paul Seesequasis is a writer and journalist. He was the founding editor of the award-winning Aboriginal Voices magazine, recipient of a MacLean-Hunter journalist award, a broadcaster and writer. His short stories and feature writings have been published in Canada and abroad. Tobacco Wars is his first novella.

Paul Seesequasis' profile page