Niro, Shelley (1992) - Tutela [Oil on canvas] ©Government of Ontario Art Collection, Archives of Ontario
“The painting Tutela depicts an area of the Grand River near Brantford, Ontario, where the Tutela lived in the early nineteenth century. According to historical texts, the Tutela moved east-ward, seeking refuge from the Indian Wars on the Plains, before being decimated by disease. Other accounts say that the Cayuga, who preserved many Tutela ceremonies and songs, adopted the Tutela into the Iroquoian community. Oral history tells another story of extermination at the hands of settlers. To Niro, this area of the Grand River, once inhabited by the Tutela, provides a psychological and spiritual home in which she pays respect to, and is constantly reminded of, extinct Aboriginal nations. Her paintings of the land and photographs of natural elements become powerfully charged with acknowledgement of her place within Iroquoian history and contemporary society.”
From “After the Storm: the Eiteljorg Fellowship for Native American Fine Arts, 2001” Edited by W. Jackson Rushing III.