Sarain Stump

Saskatchewan NAC Auction House Biography and Notes

Sarain Stump was born in Fremont, Wyoming in 1945, and moved to an Alberta ranch in 1964. His indigenous name was Sock-a-jaw-wu, meaning 'the one who pulls the boat'. He had little formal education and was encouraged to learn from his Shoshone-Cree elders. Stump promoted traditional Indigenous values and sought to help young Indigenous people retain pride in their heritage while dealing with a modern society. His paintings exhibit themes of Indigenous religion and history and modern urban struggles. He had a huge influence on Saskatchewan artists in the 1970s, and was the Indigenous art program co-ordinator at the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural College 1972-74, instructing such future art stars as Edward Poitras, Harry Laford and Ray McCallum. Sarain Stump passed away by drowning off the coast of Oaxaca, Mexico in 1974. A major exhibition of his work was held at Regina's Mackenzie Art Gallery in 2018.