Alumni Association of Lakehead University

Elliot poses with his bottle sculpture at the  unveiling ceremony in Ottawa on December 7th. To his left is Gary Lunn, Minister of Sports and Recreation and to his right is Chief Rick Simon, Regional Chief of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.

Alumni Profile: Elliott Doxtater-Wynn

By Maureen Arges Nadin

 BROADCASTER AND ARTIST CREATES HIS OWN MAGIC

Lakehead University Fine Arts graduate (HBA 2004), Elliott Doxtater-Wynn, brings an impressive breadth of creativity and infectious energy to a diverse body of artistic work. But he cannot be easily contained or categorized.

 The Thunder Bay radio audience may know him best as a member of CBC radio’s talented “the Great Northwest “morning team where he works as a technician/operator and sports broadcaster. Local school children will know him as a workshop leader, role model and mentor who generously shares his gift to instruct children in art techniques and coach them on what art and the process of completing a project can meet for their personal growth and development. And of course, art enthusiasts and members of the local artist community will know him as an accomplished visual artist and sculptor.

For Elliott, who says that he has been doing art “forever”, drawing, painting and sculpting are part of “what he does” since he made a conscious decision early in his life to be deemed an artist.  Born in Sudbury, he moved to the Six Nations Reserve in the Brantford area, where he lived for most of his formative years.  He settled in London toward the end of high school and attended Beal Art Vocational School for 3 years.  Elliot points out that, although he had taken art in high school right up to his OAC year, what he learned in the first 4 months at Beal surpassed what he had learned in all of his previous education.

Art, creativity and the ability to design and build things have always come naturally to Elliott, part inherent gift and part necessity. “ I grew up out  in the country” he says , “ and you just had to keep yourself occupied as best you could.”  This included not only “making things, inventing games and elaborate play sets”, but making maps and building props as Elliott got older and his technical skills evolved.

Elliot graduated from Beal in 1996 with a Special Arts Diploma and moved back to Sudbury for a year where he met the beautiful woman who would become his wife and the mother of his 3 children.  The couple moved to Thunder Bay in 1997, a natural choice for them, Elliot explains, as it was the largest centre that was close to his wife’s home town of Sioux Lookout. Puzzled friends wondered why he was moving to a city that was “even further North than Sudbury.”

But Elliott, who would later become an MNR forest firefighter for five seasons, enjoyed the rugged lifestyle and saw the move as an adventure.  While his wife was completing her education at Confederation College, Elliot decided to attend Lakehead University. He had been going through a period of transition and in accordance with what he describes as the “warrior’s ethics” teachings, he was evaluating whether his energy and “intent” were being used in a good way.  As part of that process, he decided to focus on achieving his academic goals and career goals.

Elliott tells me that he entered the Lakehead University system slowly, initially taking a year of General Arts and Science before going directly into the Fine Arts program.   He already had somewhat of an art portfolio at that time and participated in his classes with an “all or nothing “attitude to build on of a growing number of works.  He was determined to give his best and his complete focus to every single project.  With that intent, he approached each assignment with the goal of using his skill and creativity to make his art stand out from the work of other students.  His ethic, he says, was to “not necessarily get the best marks but every time someone walks down the hallway, they will know which one (art work) is mine.”

Lakehead University provided a wonderfully fertile learning environment for that creativity and Elliot points out the benefits of a smaller campus, particularly for art students. “ Lakehead University has a small enough community that there is enough room to talk to other students, to help and learn from other students at different levels.”  he reflects. “But also, because of the class sizes, the teachers are more accessible. And because there is a lower {student} population in the higher years, you have the room to experiment with your own particular medium styles.  There is not this overwhelming pressure of a large student population.”

Elliott graduated in 2004 and it was at that time that one of his professors from LU, Anne Clarke, recommended that he apply for the Aboriginal Internship Program at CBC radio.  Although he had no broadcasting or formal journalism experience, Elliot applied and accepted the position, where he was trained in all aspects of his current position as an operator/announcer on “The Great Northwest” morning show on CBC Radio 1.  His rather daunting work hours of 4:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. provide him with time to pursue his commission and gallery art work as well as doing frequent workshops in the school system teaching children of various ages about Art and Aboriginal culture.  Elliott is proud of his cultural background as an “Indian” (as he refers to himself in English) and he has family members who are traditional spiritual elders as well as university trained academics. This background helps him to “integrate both sides of the Indian (Anishnaabek) experience” into his personal and professional life.

For many people and artists in particular, their work is their passion.  For Elliot, however, his art is “what he does” and his true passion is his family. He tells me that “sometimes when I should be working, I find myself hanging out with my kids.”

Future goals for Elliott Doxtater-Wynn, who is also a musician, songwriter and graphic novel author, include integrating different forms of art, including visual and audio, for his latest installation and his continually evolving body of work.  Although it is difficult to imagine where he finds the time, he is also working on a collection of short stories.  And in the ultimate nod to his creative vision and dedication to his cultural roots, Elliot had his design selected by the Vancouver games committee to decorate a number of the venues for the upcoming 2010 Olympic and Paralympics winter games.  In addition, Elliott was chosen by Coca-cola to produce a bottle sculpture.  Fifteen bottles have now been selected to represent each province and territory of Canada and Elliott’s design will represent Ontario. The unique and captivating creation was unveiled on December 7th where he travelled to Ottawa to participate in the unveiling ceremony. The bottle is to be later sold in an online auction on eBay with proceeds been contributed to youth sports and recreation programs across Canada.

Elliott Doxtater-Wynn made a conscious decision to “do it all” early in his life and so far, he is managing the multiple facets of his life and the wearing of many hats, remarkably well. He takes his strength and energy from a personal philosophy which is aptly reflected in this quote,” Inspire the soul, create magic.”

Maureen Arges Nadin