Family of Rabbits 

Norval Morrisseau painted "Family of Rabbits" in a style that weaves together his Ojibwe heritage and personal experiences. Born in 1931, Morrisseau, also known as Copper Thunderbird, lived through a period of significant cultural change and challenge for Indigenous peoples in Canada. The vivid colors and bold lines are part of what defines his Woodland School style. The rabbits, depicted with bright yellows, greens, and blues against a red background, seem to pulse with life. His work helped to rewrite a history of Indigenous representation. While grounded in traditional stories, he sought to create something new, to express a vision of Indigenous identity that was neither a relic of the past nor confined by colonial expectations. Morrisseau once said that he painted what he knew, what he felt, and what he had seen. "Family of Rabbits" is more than a depiction of animals; it is an assertion of cultural presence, and a powerful act of self-definition.