Native Woodland Art

08/31/2026

'Mishipeshu' Ringo Fiddler Original Native Woodland Art $1200 CAD

Created in 2002, this piece of original Woodland Art is titled 'Mishipeshu'

Acrylic on stretched canvas, 18x24 inch. Ready to hang!

An underwater panther, called Mishipeshu or Mishibijiw in Ojibwe is one of the most important of several mythological water beings among many Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands and Great Lakes region, particularly among the Anishinaabe.
Mishipeshu translates into "the Great Lynx". It has the head and paws of a giant cat but is covered in scales and has dagger-like spikes running along its back and tail. Mishipeshu calls Michipicoten Island in Lake Superior his home and is a powerful creature in the mythological traditions of some Indigenous North American tribes, particularly Anishinaabe, the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi, of the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. In addition to the Anishinaabeg, Innu also have Mishibizhiw stories.
To the Algonquins, the underwater panther was the most powerful underworld being. The Ojibwe traditionally held them to be masters of all water creatures, including snakes. Some versions of the Nanabozho creation legend refers to whole communities of water lynx.
Some archaeologists believe that underwater panthers were major components of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex of the Mississippian culture in the prehistoric American Southeast.
In the Ojibwe language, this creature is sometimes called Mishibizhiw, Mishipizhiw, Mishipizheu, Mishupishu, Mishepishu, Michipeshu, or Mishibijiw, which translates as "Great Lynx", or Gichi-anami'e-bizhiw ("Gitche-anahmi-bezheu"), which translates as "the fabulous night panther". However, it is also commonly referred to as the "Great underground wildcat" or "Great under-water wildcat." It is the most important of the underwater animals for the Ojibwa.
In mythologies of the indigenous peoples of the Great Lakes, underwater panthers are described as water monsters that live in opposition to the Thunderbirds, masters of the powers of the air. Underwater Panthers are seen as an opposing yet complementary force to the Thunderbirds, and they are engaged in eternal conflict.
The underwater panther was an amalgam of parts from many animals: the body of a wild feline, often a cougar or lynx; the horns of deer or bison; upright scales on its back; occasionally feathers; and parts from other animals as well, depending on the particular myth. Underwater panthers are represented with exceptionally long tails, occasionally with serpentine properties. The creatures are thought to roar or hiss in the sounds of storms or rushing rapids.
Mishipizheu were said to live in the deepest parts of lakes and rivers, where they can cause storms. Some traditions believed the underwater panthers to be helpful, protective creatures, but more often they were viewed as malevolent beasts that brought death and misfortune. They often need to be placated for safe passage across a lake. As late as the 1950s, the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Indians performed a traditional ceremony to placate the Underworld Panther and maintain balance with the Thunderbird.
When ethnographer Johann Georg Kohl visited the United States in the 1850s, he spoke with a Fond du Lac chief, who showed Kohl a piece of copper kept in his medicine bag. The chief said it was a strand of hair from the mishibizhiw, and thus considered extremely powerful.
Mishipeshu is known for guarding the vast amounts of copper in Lake Superior and the Great Lakes Region. Indigenous people mined copper long before the arrival of Europeans to the area. Later, during the 17th century, missionaries of the Society of Jesus arrived in the Great Lakes Region. By that time, swiping copper from the region was extremely taboo and forbidden by the Ojibwa tribe. It was even worse to take it from the Great Lynx's home, Michipicoten Island; this was considered to be stealing from Mishipeshu himself.
There are a few stories of encounters with this great beast. A Jesuit missionary named Claude Dablon told a story about four Ojibwa people who embarked on a journey to the home of Mishipeshu to take some copper back to their home, and use it to heat water. The very second they pushed off and backed into the water with their canoe, the eerie voice of the water panther surrounded them. The water panther came growling after them, vigorously accusing them of stealing the playthings of his children. All four of the people died on the way back to their village, the last one surviving just long enough to tell the tale of what had happened in his final moments before he died.
The underwater panther is well represented in pictograms. Historical Anishnaabe twined and quilled men's bags often feature an underwater panther on one panel and the Thunderbird on the other. Norval Morrisseau (Ojibwe) painted underwater panthers in his Woodlands style artworks, contemporary paintings based on Ojibwe oral history and cosmology. The emblem has been embellished, and appears as a decorative motif on muskets.
The Canadian Museum of History includes an underwater panther in its coat of arms.
In 2003, archaeologist Brad Lepper suggested that the Alligator Effigy Mound in Granville, Ohio represents the underwater panther. Lepper posits that early European settlers, when learning from Native Americans that the mound represented a fierce creature that lived in the water and ate people, mistakenly assumed that the Native Americans were referring to an alligator.

Artist statement:

I was born in Kenora, Ontario and raised in the First Nation community of Sandy Lake, Ontario. I am a self-taught artist; my art is in the Nature Woodland style. I have been doing this type of art since I was 15 years of age.
The person whom inspired me to paint was Joshim Kakegamic. He had shown me his artwork and from there I wanted to get into art. He had told me that if he could do it that I could too. I had practiced sketching and later on went into colors by using the school’s accessories, from crayons to paint.
My uncle Johnny Meekis who was the one that bought my first set of acrylic paints and paint brushes for me and that is when I started painting full-time.
The images that came into mind are also my hunting experiences and other traditional activities, from there, I have used and expressed them through my paint brush.
I have taught in an art class for the youth at the Thomas Fiddler Memorial High School and have spoken about my art in numerous schools .
It was good to share my art work with the youth.
I remember my late-grandfather once told me that you can show your Woodland style art work out there to the world, and I have.
I am thankful to Norval Morrisseau for opening the doorway of Woodland art to the world. Miigwetch.
The meanings behind the images I use in my paintings were told to me by my Grandfather and other elders in my community. Here is a brief list of some of the images and colors I use in my paintings and what they represent.
The feather represents the Love for all of creation and it is also used for communication, and many mother ceremonial uses.
The loon represents the love for each other as the loon themselves have only one mate.
The wolf tracks represent strength, bonding, endurance and sharing.
The thunderbird represents protection.
The four primary colors I use are:
Red-Summer
Yellow-Spring
Black-Spring
White-Winter
Blue-Grandfather
Green-Grandmother
There are also spiritual meanings to the images used in my paintings.
As I continue to paint more meanings may come forward.

Ringo spent his life creating artwork and his paintings have been popular since the 1980's when he first began sharing his gift for his love of Woodland Art.
Ringo Fiddler was a true warrior who spent his time protecting vulnerable woman & children in the North. Sadly, Ringo Fiddler passed away in November of 2021.

Ringo Fiddler original artwork is sure to be a family heirloom or a worthwhile investment!

08/29/2026

08/29/2026

Loons Blessing' (Maang with Chicks) Lionel Kakegamic 2002 Original Native Woodland Art $760 CAD

Acrylic on paper, 15x22 inch.

Lionel is an established Northwestern Ontario First Nation Artist. Although he was born in Kenora in 1965, he was adopted by Kenny and Martina Kakegamic of Sandy Lake, into a family full of artists. He grew up on the land, and carries his experience of nature into all of his paintings. Lionel had his first show in Red Lake when he was 24. Since that day he has continued to sell his art throughout North America and Europe.
His paintings, generally acrylic on canvas (he has done some murals, too) retain the feel of the Woodlands tradition while adding a sense of symmetry and edginess. Every one of his paintings evokes a sense of the peace, the solitude, the purity and the strength of the North.
Lionel has returned to his roots and now lives at Wauzhushk Onigum (Rat Portage) First Nation, just on the eastern edge of Kenora.

Lionel Kakegamic original artwork is sure to be a family heirloom or a worthwhile investment!
Reasonable offers will be considered.

08/28/2026

'Wolf Mates' Gloria Kwandibens Original Native Woodland Art $480 CAD

Created in 2003, this piece of original Woodland Art is titled 'Wolf Mates'.

Acrylic on stretched paper, 15x22 inch.

Wolves are probably more loyal to their families than most human beings are to theirs. Wolves commonly mate for life, and relationships among brothers and sisters in the pack are often as fierce as the bond between their parents. A wolf pack typically consists of a mated pair and their offspring from the last few years. After giving birth, mama wolf will not leave the den for several weeks, relying on her mate to bring her food. Papa wolf also helps in training the pups.

The only female artist I have had the opportunity to purchase art from, Gloria Kwandibens from Collins Ontario, it’s a place you won’t even find on most maps. Gloria has painted few paintings like this one. This painting represents focus and determination to the task at hand. Gloria also paints images of Mother Earth and many types of animals, such as eagles, wolves, horses, lynx, cougars all with a very unique female appearance.

Nearly thirty years ago, Gloria first began selling her artwork. It was her very first paintings that she brought into the Sterling Store in the Victoriaville Mall in Thunder Bay Ontario during the mid 1990's. In that time, Gloria's sales history has been extensive, the numerous logo's created over the years include sales to First Nations, Medical Services, Legal Clinics, Cancer Care Unit, Forestry Company, Woman's & Elder's Groups, as well as a logo for a Mining Company.

Gloria Kwandibens (1974-) born and raised in Collins Ontario, located approximately 300 kms North of Thunder Bay along the CNR mainline. I am a self taught artist and work mostly with fine line pens and acrylics, I have worked in various beads, leather, wood and birch bark projects.
I started drawing as a child in Collins and started painting in my late teens when I got to high school, as a child in Collins, I used to go over to my cousins house just to see her Native Woodland Art, it inspired me to want to create and draw. I began selling paintings to private buyers, while in Collins my uncle Morris who is a wood worker would also hand carve cedar planes, tikinagans (baby cradle boards) and paddles which I would also paint for him, he had taught me to make a birch bark moose caller which then began my interest in crafting birch bark. By the time I was into my early 30’s I had learned birch crafts by the Magiskan family and also focused more on beadwork at that time, and now in my 40’s I had just started to learn more on leather crafting and was taught how to identify and harvest sweetgrass by my friend from Shawanaga First Nation a few years ago.
I have done illustrations for First Nations, company and personal logos, provided wares to local gift and First Nation Reserve gift shops, donated art and carvings to fundraisers, provided beadwork to crafters, designed art for tattoos, and have enjoyed painting personal wall murals for friends.

Namaygoosisagagun First Nation is a non-status Ojibwa First Nation near Onamakawash Lake, on the northshore of Collins Lake, northwest of Lake Nipigon; the First Nation is applying for official band status and reserve lands through the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. The name "Namaygoosisagagun" comes from Namegosi-zaaga'igan, meaning "Trout Lake," which is the Aboriginal name for Collins Lake. Though Namaygoosisagagun First Nation have about 140 people registered, only about 30 people live in Collins Lake. Collins Lake may be accessed either by Canadian National Railway line or by airplane.

08/27/2026

'Full Circle' Gloria Kwandibens 2003 Original Native Woodland Art $1200 CAD

Acrylic on stretched canvas, 18x24 inch. Ready to hang!

Created in 2003, this piece of original Woodland Art is titled 'Full Circle' as the female & male fish encircle each other in their mating dance beneath the waters. Very reminicent of the astrological symbol of Pisces.
The Anishinaabe have great respect for the swimmers as many types of fish throughout the Great Lakes are a food staple of the Mighty Anishninaabe Nation. The Ojibway are expert fisherman. The Fish Clan of the Ojibway Peoples role is to pass on the teaching & healing aspects of society. It is said that the Fish Clan people are the thinkers, scholars, and problem solvers.

“You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round. In the old days when we were a strong and happy people, all our power came to us from the sacred hoop of the nation, and so long as the hoop was unbroken, the people flourished. The flowering tree was the living center of the hoop, and the circle of the four quarters nourished it. The east gave peace and light, the south gave warmth, the west gave rain, and the north with its cold and mighty wind gave strength and endurance.
This knowledge came to us from the outer world with our religion. Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same, and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. Our teepees were round like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation’s hoop, a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to hatch our children.” ~ “Black Elk Speaks”

The only female artist I have had the opportunity to purchase art from, Gloria Kwandibens from Collins Ontario, it’s a place you won’t even find on most maps. Gloria has painted few paintings like this one. This painting represents focus and determination to the task at hand. Gloria also paints images of Mother Earth and many types of animals, such as eagles, wolves, horses, lynx, cougars all with a very unique female appearance.

Nearly thirty years ago, Gloria first began selling her artwork. It was her very first paintings that she brought into the Sterling Store in the Victoriaville Mall in Thunder Bay Ontario during the mid 1990's. In that time, Gloria's sales history has been extensive, the numerous logo's created over the years include sales to First Nations, Medical Services, Legal Clinics, Cancer Care Unit, Forestry Company, Woman's & Elder's Groups, as well as a logo for a Mining Company.

Gloria Kwandibens (1974-) born and raised in Collins Ontario, located approximately 300 kms North of Thunder Bay along the CNR mainline. I am a self taught artist and work mostly with fine line pens and acrylics, I have worked in various beads, leather, wood and birch bark projects.
I started drawing as a child in Collins and started painting in my late teens when I got to high school, as a child in Collins, I used to go over to my cousins house just to see her Native Woodland Art, it inspired me to want to create and draw. I began selling paintings to private buyers, while in Collins my uncle Morris who is a wood worker would also hand carve cedar planes, tikinagans (baby cradle boards) and paddles which I would also paint for him, he had taught me to make a birch bark moose caller which then began my interest in crafting birch bark. By the time I was into my early 30’s I had learned birch crafts by the Magiskan family and also focused more on beadwork at that time, and now in my 40’s I had just started to learn more on leather crafting and was taught how to identify and harvest sweetgrass by my friend from Shawanaga First Nation a few years ago.
I have done illustrations for First Nations, company and personal logos, provided wares to local gift and First Nation Reserve gift shops, donated art and carvings to fundraisers, provided beadwork to crafters, designed art for tattoos, and have enjoyed painting personal wall murals for friends.

Namaygoosisagagun First Nation is a non-status Ojibwa First Nation near Onamakawash Lake, on the northshore of Collins Lake, northwest of Lake Nipigon; the First Nation is applying for official band status and reserve lands through the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. The name "Namaygoosisagagun" comes from Namegosi-zaaga'igan, meaning "Trout Lake," which is the Aboriginal name for Collins Lake. Though Namaygoosisagagun First Nation have about 140 people registered, only about 30 people live in Collins Lake. Collins Lake may be accessed either by Canadian National Railway line or by airplane.

08/27/2026

'Spiritual Balance' Gloria Kwandibens 2001 Original Native Woodland Art $1200 CAD

Acrylic on canvas board, 18x24 inch.

Created in 2001, this piece of original Woodland Art is titled 'Spiritual Balance' as we see two Eagles face to face with intensity and determination. The Eagle (Migizi) is one of our most revered and respected Beings in Creation. These beautiful birds represent our link to our Creator and our connection to all that is Spiritual for our people. It is taught that when we lay our to***co (sema) the Eagle (Migizi) comes down to gather our prayers and then will soar high up into the above to bring them to Creator. The Eagle Clan (Migizi Dodem) is one of our sacred Bird Clans (Bineshi Dodem). The Eagle Clan (Migizi Dodem) people hold roles as Spiritual leaders in our communities, and help us to live in balance with all that surrounds us. The Eagle (Migizi) holds the gifts of knowledge and higher learning, and is responsible for passing on our oral history, traditional stories, and providing counsel and guidance to our community leaders.

The only female artist I have had the opportunity to purchase art from, Gloria Kwandibens from Collins Ontario, it’s a place you won’t even find on most maps. Gloria has painted few paintings like this one. This painting represents focus and determination to the task at hand. Gloria also paints images of Mother Earth and many types of animals, such as eagles, wolves, horses, lynx, cougars all with a very unique female appearance.
Nearly thirty years ago, Gloria first began selling her artwork. It was her very first paintings that she brought into the Sterling Store in the Victoriaville Mall in Thunder Bay Ontario during the mid 1990's. In that time, Gloria's sales history has been extensive, the numerous logo's created over the years include sales to First Nations, Medical Services, Legal Clinics, Cancer Care Unit, Forestry Company, Woman's & Elder's Groups, as well as a logo for a Mining Company.
Gloria Kwandibens (1974-) born and raised in Collins Ontario, located approximately 300 kms North of Thunder Bay along the CNR mainline. I am a self taught artist and work mostly with fine line pens and acrylics, I have worked in various beads, leather, wood and birch bark projects.
I started drawing as a child in Collins and started painting in my late teens when I got to high school, as a child in Collins, I used to go over to my cousins house just to see her Native Woodland Art, it inspired me to want to create and draw. I began selling paintings to private buyers, while in Collins my uncle Morris who is a wood worker would also hand carve cedar planes, tikinagans (baby cradle boards) and paddles which I would also paint for him, he had taught me to make a birch bark moose caller which then began my interest in crafting birch bark. By the time I was into my early 30’s I had learned birch crafts by the Magiskan family and also focused more on beadwork at that time, and now in my 40’s I had just started to learn more on leather crafting and was taught how to identify and harvest sweetgrass by my friend from Shawanaga First Nation a few years ago.
I have done illustrations for First Nations, company and personal logos, provided wares to local gift and First Nation Reserve gift shops, donated art and carvings to fundraisers, provided beadwork to crafters, designed art for tattoos, and have enjoyed painting personal wall murals for friends.
Namaygoosisagagun First Nation is a non-status Ojibwa First Nation near Onamakawash Lake, on the northshore of Collins Lake, northwest of Lake Nipigon; the First Nation is applying for official band status and reserve lands through the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. The name "Namaygoosisagagun" comes from Namegosi-zaaga'igan, meaning "Trout Lake," which is the Aboriginal name for Collins Lake. Though Namaygoosisagagun First Nation have about 140 people registered, only about 30 people live in Collins Lake. Collins Lake may be accessed either by Canadian National Railway line or by airplane.

08/26/2026

'Ma'iingan's Kinship' (Wolves) Gloria Kwandibens Original Native Woodland Art $800 CAD

Acrylic on stretched canvas, 18x24 inch. Ready to hang!

Created in 2001, this piece of original Woodland Art is titled 'Ma'iingan's Kinship' (Wolves) Wolves are our spiritual and ecological role models, there is a spiritual importance in connecting to the creatures of the natural world.

The only female artist I have had the opportunity to purchase art from, Gloria Kwandibens from Collins Ontario, it’s a place you won’t even find on most maps. Gloria has painted few paintings like this one. This painting represents focus and determination to the task at hand. Gloria also paints images of Mother Earth and many types of animals, such as eagles, wolves, horses, lynx, cougars all with a very unique female appearance.
Nearly thirty years ago, Gloria first began selling her artwork. It was her very first paintings that she brought into the Sterling Store in the Victoriaville Mall in Thunder Bay Ontario during the mid 1990's. In that time, Gloria's sales history has been extensive, the numerous logo's created over the years include sales to First Nations, Medical Services, Legal Clinics, Cancer Care Unit, Forestry Company, Woman's & Elder's Groups, as well as a logo for a Mining Company.
Gloria Kwandibens (1974-) born and raised in Collins Ontario, located approximately 300 kms North of Thunder Bay along the CNR mainline. I am a self taught artist and work mostly with fine line pens and acrylics, I have worked in various beads, leather, wood and birch bark projects.
I started drawing as a child in Collins and started painting in my late teens when I got to high school, as a child in Collins, I used to go over to my cousins house just to see her Native Woodland Art, it inspired me to want to create and draw. I began selling paintings to private buyers, while in Collins my uncle Morris who is a wood worker would also hand carve cedar planes, tikinagans (baby cradle boards) and paddles which I would also paint for him, he had taught me to make a birch bark moose caller which then began my interest in crafting birch bark. By the time I was into my early 30’s I had learned birch crafts by the Magiskan family and also focused more on beadwork at that time, and now in my 40’s I had just started to learn more on leather crafting and was taught how to identify and harvest sweetgrass by my friend from Shawanaga First Nation a few years ago.
I have done illustrations for First Nations, company and personal logos, provided wares to local gift and First Nation Reserve gift shops, donated art and carvings to fundraisers, provided beadwork to crafters, designed art for tattoos, and have enjoyed painting personal wall murals for friends.
Namaygoosisagagun First Nation is a non-status Ojibwa First Nation near Onamakawash Lake, on the northshore of Collins Lake, northwest of Lake Nipigon; the First Nation is applying for official band status and reserve lands through the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. The name "Namaygoosisagagun" comes from Namegosi-zaaga'igan, meaning "Trout Lake," which is the Aboriginal name for Collins Lake. Though Namaygoosisagagun First Nation have about 140 people registered, only about 30 people live in Collins Lake. Collins Lake may be accessed either by Canadian National Railway line or by airplane.

Gloria Kwandibens original artwork is sure to be a family heirloom or a worthwhile investment!

Reasonable offers will be considered.