Eugene Morriseau
Sandy Lake First Nation
Currently live in Thunder Bay, Ontario. a member of Sandy Lake First Nation which is my home community.
I am one of seven of Norval Morrisseau’s children.
I am inspired by other peoples’ artwork. My other inspirations come from listening to my elders passing down stories. I try to visualize these stories and bring those images into my paintings. Each of my paintings has its own story.
Some of the people who inspired me were my uncles, Joshim Kakegamic and Goyce Kakegamic. They were the brothers-in-law of my father, Norval Morrisseau. These three people planted the seed in me to paint by letting me help them with their work when I was young.
I knew I had the talent. One of my biggest inspirations was watching my father paint when I was a boy. He used to tell me stories about the paintings and their meanings. I was too young to understand them at the time.
Back in the year of 2000, the seven of us were with my father in Thunder Bay. One evening he asked us, “Come and sit with me here”. He asked, “When I pass on, will my colours die?” After a silence, I responded, “Do you know how many generations you inspired through your artwork?”
There are four of us that inherited our father’s talent, me, Christian, David and my sister Lisa. I am a self-taught artist.
My inspiration is my father, Norval Morrisseau. Through my artwork, I would like to carry on my father’s colours in my own unique way. When I am painting, sitting there, using the paints and colours, this is when my ideas and images come to me.
I am so grateful and fortunate to have inherited my father’s talent and to be able to carry on the Morrisseau name for my kids and future generations to come. “Your colours will live on!”
“Your colours will not die. Your colours will live on for the future generations to come. We will carry your colours.”
More information about Eugene Morriseau can be found on Lake Superior Art Gallery

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