Finally, Aboriginal art on our money

Canada’s new twenty dollar bill from the Bank of Canada
Lately we have had a lot of nice art on our money. With the recent new designs for our bills, we now have a gorgeous five dollar bill featuring kids tobaganning and playing hockey with a quote from Roch Carrier’s “The Hockey Sweater,” as iconic a book about Canadian winters as there is.

But today comes an exciting development. At the end of next month the Bank of Canada will release the new series of twenty dollar bills and this time they feature a selection of work from Haida artist the late Bill Reid. Despite being no stranger to controversy, Reid played a significant role in establish a contemporary movement of Haida art. Along with Robert Davidson, Reg Davidson and many others, Reid was part of a surge in the later half of the 20th century that put Haida art on the global map as more than an anthropological curiosity.

It’s great to see him honoured.

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By the way, I heard a great joke on the CBC about our colourful money, which Americans often describe as “Monopoly money.”

Q. Why does Canadian money have colours?
A. Because our beer has alcohol.