Lawsuit alleges 2006 sexual assault by acclaimed Indigenous artist Norval Morrisseau

VANCOUVER — The estate of acclaimed Indigenous artist Norval Morrisseau is being sued in British Columbia by a fellow painter who says Morrisseau sexually assaulted him in 2006.

A lawyer for the estate of Morrisseau says in a statement that the claims are “implausible” because Morrisseau had advanced Parkinson’s disease, was in a state of near-paralysis and had no sexual function at the time, in the year before he died.

The lawsuit by Mark Anthony Jacobson was filed in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver on Aug. 25 and says Morrisseau assaulted him by touching him on the buttocks.

It says Jacobson was visiting Morrisseau at his home and complained of back pain, when the artist’s assistant suggested Morrisseau could heal him.

It says when Jacobson turned around, Morrisseau placed his hands in his pants and “touched his buttocks without consent.”

None of the claims have been tested in court.

Jacobson says in the lawsuit that he met Morrisseau at an art exhibition in Nanaimo, B.C., in 2005, after which they “formed a relationship of trust, mentorship, and cultural guidance.”

“I was really shocked that somebody that I had appreciated and had held to such high esteem didn’t regard me at all, didn’t regard my feelings or my thoughts or my appreciation for him,” Jacobson said in an interview about the alleged assault.

Photographs supplied to The Canadian Press by Jacobson that he says were taken in 2005 show him crouching beside Morrisseau.

Morrisseau, who was also known as Copper Thunderbird, was a trailblazer for contemporary Indigenous artists across Canada and received numerous awards and honours, including the Order of Canada.

His distinctive pictographic style has also been widely forged. At least 6,000 fake Morrisseau paintings have been uncovered, costing his estate $100 million in losses, in a phenomenon that police have called the biggest art fraud in world history.

A response to Jacobson’s lawsuit has not yet been filed, but lawyer Jason Gratl, who is representing Norval Morrisseau Estate Ltd., provided a statement rejecting the allegations.

It says the defendants “intend to vigorously defend Norval Morrisseau’s legacy against this implausible claim.”

“Throughout 2006, in the year the plaintiff alleges sexual misconduct, Norval Morrisseau was in an advanced stage of Parkinson’s disease, was near paralysis, was confined to a wheelchair (being held upright in the wheelchair by straps) and was functionally non-libidinous,” the statement says.

The lawsuit says Jacobson has found other victims and established a pattern of behaviour but it did not expand on the claim or list any names.

It says Jacobson suffered long-term harm including PTSD and depression and that his career has been “severely harmed.”

He is seeking a total of $5 million in general, aggravated and punitive damages, and damages for economic loss.

Jacobson said in the interview that he was originally “overjoyed” at being introduced to Morrisseau, likening it to “a young Sidney Crosby meeting Wayne Gretzky.”

He has made claims on social media and the internet about the alleged assault for more than two years.

“I don’t want to go through the rest of my life keeping this a secret,” he said in the interview.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 5, 2025.

Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press