Arlene Christmas „Dozay“ was born in the Tobique First Nation in New Brunswick, Canada. She was a Wolastoqiyik (also known as Maliseet) artist. They are part of the Wabanaki Confederacy (Maliseet, Mi´kmaq, Passamaquoddy, Abenaki and Penobscot). Their territory includes New Brunswick, Quebec (both Canadian provinces) and Maine (US).
Her uncle was very supportive of her and gave her the name “Dozay” which means “Little Daughter”. He would sell her early drawings for ten cents or a quarter. Her mother also gave her gentle artistic encouragement. This repeated encouragement let the young Dozay eventually realize, that she really could become and accomplished artist.
Dozay has produced large-scale interior and exterior painted murals and limited edition prints on her original paintings. She did conventional brushstroke oil paintings, as well as acrylic airbrush paintings.
She was inspired by ancient and historic traditional visual art form, as well as oral traditions descending primarily from her homelands and the surrounding areas and of course by natural landscapes. She was able to transform these inspirations into phenomenal art.
The Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax brought her to Nova Scotia. She intended to pursue a career as a conventional formal educator, but in her third year she transferred to the fine arts program, to eventually become a full-time artist. She realized there, that many First Nations artists of the time were borrowing artistic conventions, aesthetics and styles from traditional Ojibwa and Haida works of art which is known through mainstream media sources. But she wanted to be herself and to be known for a distinct art form unique to her people. So she worked hard and developed her own distinct personal style of painting.
She has chosen to focus on the spiritual and educational potential of the arts. Therefore she was able to bring awareness and knowledge into the public’s consciousness through her work. Dozay also illustrated children´s books which helps young First Nations children to understand their culture and history.
