This is part of a series in which Vincent illustrates the various stages in the manufacture of snowshoes, an artisanal trade that developed into an industry in the nineteenth century. Images like this, of Indigenous craftsmen in a domestic setting, were a powerful counter-argument to the assumption that Indigenous people lived exclusively in nature. Vincent’s work, by bearing witness to the actual conditions of working people, becomes part of an important documentary tradition.
Zacharie Vincent’s Indigenous Legacy
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Zacharie Vincent, Snowshoe Maker, n.d.
Graphite and wash on paper, 23 x 30 cm, Château Ramezay, Montreal