As the likes of Ovide Mercredi and George Erasmus provide increasingly articulate and forceful leadership in politics, sophisticated Aboriginal artists are emerging in increasing numbers and strength. Curated by Aboriginals Gerald McMaster and Lee-Ann Martin, lndigena: Contemporary Native Perspectives (D&M $29.95) showcases young aboriginal visual, literary and performing artists in conjunction with a touring exhibit of the same name. 'Contributors include Emily Carr College graduate Eric Robertson, UVic-trained Rick Rivet, Kamloops-born Lawrence Paul, Hazelton's Mike MacDonald, Vancouver's Loretta Todd, Alert Bay-born Gloria Cranmer Webster and Jim Logan, born in New Westminster in 1955. "I see myself as a social commentator," says Logan, whose caricature-like pieces often reflect poverty, oppression, alcoholism and abuse. "(But) It is vitally important to me that people out there don't say to themselves, 'See, they may be a little poorer than us, but hell, they're happy and content,' and put native society into the 'quaint and rustic' file of their conscience." 1-55054-O36-X

[BCBW, Autumn, 1992]