Ruth Cuthand biography

Ruth Cuthand is a Canadian artist of Plains Cree and Scottish ancestry. She is widely considered an influential feminist artist of the Canadian prairies and is lauded for her unflinching interpretation of racism and colonialism. Her work challenges mainstream perspectives on colonialism and the relationships between “settlers” and Natives in a practice marked by political invective, humour, and a deliberate crudeness of style. Born on Treaty 6 Land, near Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Cuthand is a member of Little Pine First Nation, but spent most of her childhood in Cardston, Alberta near the Blood Reserve, where she met artist Gerald Tailfeathers at the age of 8, which compelled her to pursue a career as an artist. Cuthand earned a BFA from the University of Saskatchewan in 1983, and a MFA, also from the University of Saskatchewan in 1992. In the period between her degree programs, Cuthand did some post-graduate work at the University of Montana in 1985. During her education, she worked in printmaking, but later switched to painting.