Allen Sapp

Allen Sapp, Sa-pu-num Kiskayetum, was a painter from Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Treaty 6, Saskatchewan. He is best known for his visual storytelling. Highly-detailed paintings depicting memories of life at Red Pheasant in the 1930s. Sapp received acclaim, rare in his time for both an Indigenous and a vernacular artist. Many such artists were excluded from the mainstream by hierarchies of classification. Even in the context of his success, reactions to his early work were still fraught with bias and dismissive or patronizing attitudes.

Allen Sapp – Sharpening Willow Pickets

Sapp lived with his grandparents at Red Pheasant and worked the family farm. He was a sickly child and spent a lot of time inside the cabin. While there, his Nokum encouraged his interest in art, and taught him traditional ways. His two loves would remain painting and Powwow dancing.

As an adult, Sapp moved to North Battleford. He would walk around the city selling wood, hunted animals, and paintings. Many of his early paintings were landscapes from photographs, and people liked them. Once he even sold paintings to the very police officer that was trying to shut him down.

Allen Sapp – Taking Wood to Town

One of these early supporters was Dr. Allan Gonor, who saw some of Allen Sapp’s paintings and actively sought him out. Sapp was initially suspicious, but they soon became friends. Gonor wanted to support Sapp’s work, and bought many paintings. Sapp would visit at all hours of the night to have tea and show his new paintings to Gonor and his wife Ruth. Gonor also brought Sapp to Wynonna Mulcaster at the University of Saskatchewan for advice. Mulcaster and Gonor agreed that their favourites were Sapp’s paintings of life at Red Pheasant, and they encouraged him to focus on that.

Sapp was known for the remarkable detail of his memory. Visiting the site where the cabin once stood, he told stories to his friends of exactly what and who was where, and at what time. They knew all his references from seeing the paintings and it was just as described.

Allen Sapp – Installation View

After directly selling Sapp’s paintings to everyone he knew became unmanageable for Gonor, he hired a business manager for Sapp. Bill Baker facilitated sales, shows, and appearances nationally and internationally. Despite the travel and many opportunities to wear his nicest cowboy shirts, Sapp remained humble. He and Gonor once lied their way out of dinner with the Lieutenant Governor so they could see a movie. He considered his successes, including the Order of Canada and Saskatchewan Order of Merit to be successes for all his people. He was proud to have the opportunity to inspire youth.

Allen Sapp Gallery, North Battleford, SK

The Gonors funded the Allen Sapp Gallery in North Battleford, which still operates today, displaying Sapp’s work and other Indigenous art from the Gonor Collection. Sapp himself visited near-daily until his death, interacting with visitors and giving tours. He wanted to ensure that local Indigenous youth had opportunities to learn more about their history and culture.