Regina is celebrating National Indigenous Peoples Day with various programs across the Queen City.
The Regina Downtown Business Improvement District and Creative City Centre unveiled a Path to Reconciliation mural project to mark the occasion.
Geanna Dunbar works on the mural. (Photo courtesy of the Regina Regina Downtown Business Improvement District Facebook page)
The 8-foot-wide path down the centre of the FW Hill Mall on the 1800 block of Scarth Street was designed and installed by Geanna Dunbar and Brandy Jones, supported by Elder Brenda Dubois and Cultural/Indigenous Art Advisor Audrey Dreaver.
Dunbar said the mural features many symbolic items, including the bead-like pattern featured throughout the whole mural.
“We decided to go with a traditional bead and wanted to represent pre-contact with what we adjourn our clothing with, which were textiles, teeth, bone, porcupine quills, organic materials, seeds, shells, that type of thing,” she said. “The nice thing about the beads is that there’s beadwork in almost all nations for indigenous folks. When people come, that space is for them.”
Dunbar noted that they decided to go with blue as the primary colour after conversing with an elder, who spoke of wind, rivers, and oceans meeting and merging.
“Water always finds a way through obstacles, and it carries a lot of power. It feeds us and gives us moisture for growth and new life.”
The mural also features white, representing the bones of bison, which play a big role in indigenous culture.
“The vision is huge in our way of life and in our cultural representation, and we wanted to also acknowledge the history of Regina and how they were almost hunted to extinction by white settlers,” she said. “We ended up doing a pile of bones all the way down the path, and we ended the path with the white bison.”
“There are teachings of the white buffalo, and when it’s born, it represents part of life, a sacred loop, and it’s a sign of prosperity fulfilled and an indication of good times to come for indigenous people,” she added.
Dunbar said they also tried to encapture the Northern Lights throughout the mural.
“Our Northern Lights represent our elders and our ancestors watching over us. There’s a saying that the space in between your walk that’s where your elder’s footprints or your ancestors’ are. They’re always with us. They guide us, and we wanted them to be represented in present during this as well.”
Dunbar also reflected on National Indigenous Peoples’ Day and how those who aren’t indigenous can celebrate the day.
“Just acknowledge your privilege or acknowledge different ways that things are easier for you. It is easier for you to get certain jobs. It is easier for you to rent homes, not be judged because of your skin colour.”
“Bridge out your conversations and open your mind. A lot of people can feel like they don’t have these biases, but something they don’t even realize they do and that’s okay. Just as long as you acknowledge it and change. That’s what reconciliation is,” she added.
Other celebrations being held include The Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Network (EDIN) Indigenous Peoples Day celebration at Victoria Park and Pat Fiacco Plaza from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., which will include indigenous performers, family-friendly activities, Indigenous craft fair.
A look at other events happening across the Queen City:
- National Indigenous Peoples Day Free Activities at the RCMP Heritage Centre – 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. – Free
- Paul Seesequasis—Turning the Lens: Indigenous Archive Project at the MacKenzie Art Gallery – 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. – Admission: $12 for adults, free for children
- National Indigenous Peoples Day at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum – 1 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. – Admission by donation
- Indigenous History Month: Film Series at the T. Rex Discovery Centre – 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. – Admission by donation
- Judy Anderson: …Indigenized at the Dunlop Art Gallery – All day
- Indigenous Peoples Day at the Indigenous Christian Fellowship – 12 p.m. – 2 p.m. – Free
