1. Norval Morrisseau ( 1932 – 2007) Nosova Natalya

2. Norval Morrisseau was a Canadian artist who created many colorful paintings and prints. His paintings were often about First Nations culture, traditions and legends. He painted the ancient myths and legends of the eastern woodlands of Canada. Nosova Natalya

3. Norval Morrisseau’s grandfather was an Ojibway, or Ashishaabe, shaman. He taught Norval many of the stories that Norval would later paint pictures of. Nosova Natalya

4. The picture on this page shows one of the paintings that Morrisseau did in 1989. It has a long title. The title is: The Artist Morrisseau Painted Norval in Shaman Regalia and He is Holding the Circle of Life Represented by a Snake Biting Its Tail and the Sacred Frog Which is Earth Itself. The Figure Inside the Frog is the Environment. Nosova Natalya

5. A shaman is a person who acts as a link between the visible world and an invisible spirit world. Shamans are healers. They heal people and they heal the land. They are important in First Nations culture and traditions. Nosova Natalya

6. Regalia are the special clothes that they wear. The circle of life is the fact that everything on Earth is part of a great cyle of birth, life and death. We are born, we live and then we die. Death is not the end. Nosova Natalya

7. Instead it is the start of something new. All plants and animals are part of this circle and they are all important. Norval Morrisseau grew up near the town of Thunder Bay, Ontario. He also used the name Copper Thunderbird. Nosova Natalya

9. Listen to the text and mark the statements ≪ True ≫ (T) or ≪ False ≫ (F). 1. Norval Morrisseau's grandmother taught him the shaman legends and myths. 2. Copper Thunderbird was another name for Norval Morrisseau. 3. Morriseau painted many colourful paintings. 4. Only people are part of the circle of life. 5. A shaman is a healer. Nosova Natalya

11. Fill in the Blanks: 4. The snake is _________ its tail in the painting. 5. The environment is ___________ by the figure inside the Sacred Frog in the painting. 6. Shaman regalia are the ______________ clothes that they wear. 7. Norval Morrisseau's _____________ were usually about First Nations myths and legends. 8. The circle of life includes birth, life and ________. 9. We are _____________, we live and then we die. 10. We live in the visible world but some people believe that there is an ____________ spirit world. 11. Thunder Bay is a ______________ in Ontario. Nosova Natalya