Norval Morriseau’s Thunderbird

(thunderbird), ca. 1960
Acrylic on kraft paper
76.84 x 158.12 cm
Red Lake Museum Collection

The Thunderbird is an image which represents a protector or a powerful guardian.  Morrisseau describes being given the name of “Copper Thunderbird” when, as a youth, he needed help to overcome an illness.  The substance “copper” joined with the beliefs associated with the thunderbird results in a very powerful combination. This is the translation of the name written in syllabics on Morrisseau’s paintings.

This Thunderbird clearly radiates “power” from his eye and wing tips with strong connections to the five divided circles around him.  He carries a medicine sac on his neck.

Ken McLeod, owner of McLeod’s Transportation in Red Lake, purchased this piece circa 1960.  It hung in his office for years, viewed by customers and those who dropped in for coffee and conversation on a Sunday morning.  When Ken became Reeve of Red Lake in 1964, he moved the painting to the Municipal Office. It remained there until it was donated to the Red Lake Museum in 1995, just prior to the demolition of the Municipal Office.