Donna Langhorne: Common Truths

"Common Truths continues my work of examining how challenges facing Indigenous people today can be identified and addressed artistically with reference to traditional teachings and concepts. Since 2015 I have been specializing in the use of the Woodlands style innovated by renowned Anishinaabe painter Norval Morrisseau. This was at the encouragement of recognized elders and practitioners in the Woodlands movement. 

"As a member of Fishing Lake First Nation in Saskatchewan [Plains Ojibway], my ancestral roots are Anishinaabe. I have been drawn to this movement and my voice is wholly authentic and endorsed by this community of artists. This has served as a calling for me, and has proven to be immensely fulfilling artistically.

"Because the lived experiences of Indigenous Peoples under colonial dominance represent a set of Common Truths, this project looks to another shared manifestation within Indigenous cultures to confront them: the organization of social structure and roles as represented by the clan system and the totems. 

"For purposes of this project I use the corresponding Anishinaabe/Ojibway term doodem. [The works and titles] outline the connections I am making between the five classes within Anishinaabe clan structure [using four representative doodem per class] in order to confront 20 common truths impacting Indigenous people. References drawn from the TRC, the media, and/or the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, are included for each of the 20 Common Truths."

--Donna Langhorne

About the artist

Donna Langhorne is an Anishinaabe nation artist. A member of the Fishing Lake First Nation and lifelong resident of Air Ronge, Saskatchewan, Donna Rose Langhorne is the mother of three children between the ages of five and ten years old. Now age 28, she has been working in Northern Saskatchewan as a self-taught professional artist since 2010.

Donna suffers from a debilitating condition that makes it extremely traumatic for her to travel. Dealing with this confining reality has greatly influenced her artwork, underpinning in one way or another, virtually everything she creates, both structurally and thematically. Having this condition means it has made it very difficult for her to connect with and integrate into the arts community and to also establish herself in a broader marketplace, let alone to pursue mentorship and professional development opportunities.

Even acquiring supplies is problematic, and costly, since they are not readily available in the remote Northern community in which she lives. While Donna has produced and sold upwards of 100 paintings, including creating art for private, public and corporate commissions, her chief market has been limited to this economically challenged Northern region.

She participates at every opportunity in local trade fairs and her work has received considerable exposure and acclaim this way. Donna has worked hard to establish an online presence and is the owner/operator of the Donna the Strange On-Line Art Gallery, which has a strong following.