Christi Belcourt

Christi Marlene Belcourt (born September 24, 1966) is a Canadian visual artist and author. She is best known for her acrylic paintings which depict floral patterns inspired by Métis and First Nations historical beadwork art. Belcourt's work often focuses on questions around identity, culture, place, and divisions within communities.

Biography Born in Scarborough, Ontario, Belcourt is the daughter of national Métis rights activist Tony Belcourt and Judith Pierce Martin (née Streatch). Her family's roots are connected to Manitou Saskhigan (also known as Lac Ste. Anne), Alberta. Her brother Shane Belcourt is a writer, director, musician and cinematographer known for his feature film Tkaronto, which depicts the life of urban Métis and First Nations people. Her sister Suzanne Belcourt is a graphic designer and artist living and working in southern Ontario. In 1970, her father was elected as the founding President of the Native Council of Canada (now known as the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples) and the family relocated permanently to Ottawa, Ontario from Edmonton, Alberta.

As a Métis visual artist with a deep respect for the traditions and knowledge of her people, she primarily explores and celebrates the beauty of the natural world. She is the author of three books and her artwork has been utilized as cover artwork for many publications. Belcourt's work has been featured in two documentary films: So Much Depends Upon Who Holds The Shovel (2008, Wayne Peltier) and A Life in Balance (2012, Kathy Browning).

In 2014, Belcourt founded the community based The Onaman Collective with Isaac Murdoch and Erin Konsmo. This project aims to preserve traditional knowledge, language, and teachings. The Onaman Collective has also worked to connect traditional knowledge keepers and elders with Indigenous youth. The Collective has also engaged in advocacy around water protection and raising awareness of the need to protect the Great Lakes and other bodies of water. They created a series of banners free to download on their website to use during water and land protection events. These banners are act of solidarity between water, land and animals protectors from different communities across Turtle Island.

In the same year, Belcourt was also involved in promoting the "blue dot" movement as a way of visually protesting government decisions around the First Nations Control of First Nations Education Act. The blue dots added to photographs in this movement were used as a way of identifying the marginalized people left out of the conversations by the Canadian Government.

As a form of activism in 2016, Belcourt requested the Métis Nation of Ontario remove her name from the organization's registry. Belcourt's request was in part based on her disagreement with the organization's decision to sign deals with mining companies such as Energy East and Nuclear Waste Management Organization.

Beginning in 2017, Belcourt was involved in the establishment 150 Acts of Resistance project. This initiative was designed to counter the Canadian government narrative around the "Canada 150" sesquicentennial celebration and to promote a discussion of the realities of colonialism and Indigenous resistance in Canada.

Artwork

Painting Belcourt creates large, mural-sized acrylic paintings that resemble the beadwork of her ancestors and community, by using her brush to make tiny dots that resemble beadwork. Her paintings are filled with floral designs that include insects, birds and other animals, spread out across the canvas. These are not just floral patterns or illustrations, but Belcourt has created stories for each work.

In 2014, Christi Belcourt was inspired to make an acrylic on canvas painting with measurements of 36 by 48 inches and named, Offerings and Prayers for Genebek Ziibing. According to Belcourt, "between 1955 to 1978, there were over 30 tailings dumps and spills from uranium mines at Elliot Lake into the 10 lakes and Serpent River. The radiation from uranium dumps completely killed the life in the waters and the people of Genaabaajing are still living with the devastating environmental effects today". According to a case study on Elliot Lake written in 1982, by nuclear analyst Ralph Torrie, "At Elliot Lake, Ontario, tailings were dumped into various lakes in the Serpent River watershed throughout the 1950s and 1960s". This painting was created because of the inspiration received from the stories and teachings of Isaac Murdoch, an Indigenous artist and environmentalist.

In 2025, Belcourt completed "In My Grandmother's Time", a digitized image artwork printed on vinyl . This large piece was installed at the University of Alberta, in the atrium of the newly-renovated University Commons building . After completing the piece, Belcourt noted her inspiration in a Facebook post, "I'm very grateful for the chance to make this space beautiful and to be able to honour and celebrate the land of my Metis grandmothers from Lac Ste. Anne" Her stained glass window is in the Parliament of Canada and includes a replica of a photo taken at the Shubeacadie Indian Residential School in Nova Scotia. The work, whose Anishinaabemowin name signifies looking ahead for the unborn ones, represents through the shattered glass the breaking of the silence surrounding the residential school system of its survivors in the 1980s, the evolving stance of the Church and governments in the recognition of the harms perpetrated by the residential schools and their apology as well as the hope of reconciliation.

Exhibitions

Solo Urban Myths: Aboriginal Artists in the City, Karsh-Masson Gallery (2000) Lessons from the Earth, Thunder Bay Art Gallery (2003/2004) New Works By Christi Belcourt, Metis Nation of Ontario Annual General Assembly (2005) Great Metis of My Time, Batoche National Historic Site (2008) Off The Map & Great Metis of My Time, Urban Shaman Gallery (2008) Off The Map, ArtSpace Gallery (2008) Identity, Land & Spirit, Red Shift Gallery (2009) Mapping Routes: Perspectives of Land and Water in Ontario, Thunder Bay Art Gallery (2010) The Power of Mother Earth - Christi Belcourt - A Retrospective with Isaac Murdoch, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Carleton University Art Gallery, MacKenzie Art Gallery (2020)

Group

Permanent installations Giniigaaniimenaaning, stained glass window to recognize the survivors of Indian Residential Schools, installed in the Centre Block, Parliament of Canada (2012) Christi Belcourt Permanent Collection Room, Gabriel Dumont Institute (2013)

Other artistic works Belcourt designed the competition medals for 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games. In 2015 Belcourt's drawing "Water Song" was used as print inspiration for a line of clothing by Valentino. In 2017 Belcourt collaborated with ela Handbags to create a line of limited edition handbags with prints resembling her paintings. In 2021 Belcourt's painting "The Wisdom of the Universe" was used in collaboration with musical group Waxwing Trio to create the "Highway of Tears" dedication video.

Publications Co-author. Jeremy and the Magic Ball (2008), Ontario Indian Friendship Centres Medicines to Help Us Traditional Metis Plant Use (2008), Beadwork: First Peoples' Beading History and Techniques (2011), Contributor. Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices (2014), Contributor. iLit Strength and Struggle: Perspectives from First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples in Canada (2011),

Publications about Belcourt

Awards Belcourt is the recipient of numerous awards and grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Chalmers Family Fund and the Métis Nation of Ontario, including:

Metis Cultural Grant Recipient, Metis Nation of Ontario (1998) Emerging Artist Grant, Ontario Arts Council and Canadian Council for the Arts (2000, 1999) First place, Mixed Media, LaCloche Art Show, Whitefish Falls, Ontario (2004) Aboriginal Arts Projects Grant Recipient, Ontario Arts Council (2004) Mid-Career Artist Grant Recipient, Ontario Arts Council (2004) Judges Choice Award, Works on Paper Exhibit, Espanola, Ontario (2006) Aboriginal People's Collaborative Exchange Program, Canada Council For The Arts (2007) Northern Arts Grant Recipient, Ontario Arts Council (2007) Aboriginal Arts Projects Grant and Aboriginal Traditional Arts Program, Ontario Arts Council and Canada Council (2009) Chalmers Family Fund, Ontario Arts Council (2010) Influential Women of Northern Ontario, Aboriginal Leadership Award (2014) Aboriginal Arts Award 2014 Laureate, Ontario Arts Council (2014) Art Gallery of Ontario People's Choice Award for "The Wisdom of the Universe" acrylic painting (2015) Governor General's Innovation Award (2016) Ontario Premier's Awards for Excellence in the Arts, Individual Artist Award (2016) Order of Canada (2024) Commemorative Stamp, Canada Post (2024)