NWT Arts

Morris grew up in Délı̨nę but was born on the land. His parents moved into Fort Franklin, which was then called Délı̨nę, in the 1980s. His father taught him everything. Since there were no sisters in the family, he and his siblings were taught all types of work—including what was traditionally considered women’s work—and they did it all for survival.

Painting came to him naturally as he grew up. He did a lot of drawing while attending school and worked on carving with wood and bone in the 1970s and 1980s. He also took many photographs around Délı̨nę. Whenever he had time in the evenings, he worked on his art.

In 1990, he returned to making drums and sometimes snowshoes. He needed to find the right grain of spruce or birch. Spruce was difficult to shape into a round form because it could splinter when bent. Birch was scarce in the area, so he had to travel about 40 miles south of Délı̨nę to find it.

It was important to him to leave something behind so that young people would know where they came from. His father, Johnny Neyelle, used to tell him stories about everything—stories that he wanted to preserve. He tried to write them down, record them, and draw them—whatever it took. He also worked to pass on traditional skills and knowledge in many different ways through making things.