Sarain Stump
1945 - 1974
His native name means "the one who pulls the boat". Painter, poet and educator, Sock-a-jaw-wu, also known as Sarain Stump, was born in Fremont, Wyoming in 1945 and moved to Canada in 1964. Learning mostly from his Shoshone-Cree elders, Sarain did not have any formal art training and taught himself to draw.
Sarain taught history and art classes and became the art director of the Indian Art program at the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural College in Saskatoon and was instrumental in creating the Indian Art Program at the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College in Regina. Sarain’s work has been shown across Canada and brought a great deal of awareness to Aboriginal art around the country.
An advocate of traditional Aboriginal values, Sarain worked to help young Aboriginal people take pride in their heritage and cope with the modern world. This passion also showed in his drawings, which deal with the religion and history of Aboriginal people and the way these things fit in a modern context.
Both simple and complex, Sarain uses paint and pencil sketches to depict deep feeling and multifaceted ideas. In his published book, There is My People Sleeping, Sarain’s illustrations surround his own words of inspiration. The drawings themselves are fraught with symbolism and are a reference to the history of illustrations and mark-making of traditional Aboriginal cultures.
Sarain passed away in 1974.
Sarain taught history and art classes and became the art director of the Indian Art program at the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural College in Saskatoon and was instrumental in creating the Indian Art Program at the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College in Regina. Sarain’s work has been shown across Canada and brought a great deal of awareness to Aboriginal art around the country.
An advocate of traditional Aboriginal values, Sarain worked to help young Aboriginal people take pride in their heritage and cope with the modern world. This passion also showed in his drawings, which deal with the religion and history of Aboriginal people and the way these things fit in a modern context.
Both simple and complex, Sarain uses paint and pencil sketches to depict deep feeling and multifaceted ideas. In his published book, There is My People Sleeping, Sarain’s illustrations surround his own words of inspiration. The drawings themselves are fraught with symbolism and are a reference to the history of illustrations and mark-making of traditional Aboriginal cultures.
Sarain passed away in 1974.