"Nokomis" by Shawn Howe

Nokomis

I created this mural for my Grammie. I wanted to give thanks to her and honour her life and her journey. She was a genocidal camp survivor, (formerly known as residential “school” survivor) and I am here today and have my culture, because she survived.

M'wikwedong Manitous Mural

M’wikwedong Manitous

As a child growing up in Toronto and swimming in the waters of Georgian Bay, I was told there were water creatures within the Great Lakes. I was always warned to be careful when swimming because I had to respect the water world and those beings that lived within it. The image I have chosen…

Community Mural - Water is Lie

Community Mural

A partnership between East End Arts, Women Paint, Native Women in the Arts, and the Riverside BIA, ‘Women Paint Riverside’ was an exciting opportunity to beautify and enhance the Riverside neighbourhood with a series of interconnected murals, exploring the relationship between the vibrant urban Riverside community and the Don River from which it takes its…

Ohútsya Kékha Mural

Ohútsya Kékha

We are the earth, the earth is us. Our ancestors are here – The mud Those rocks Standing stones The upright trees The stillness of the sky And the smokey sun Thunderers revive and bring healing So flowing rivers splash across our bodies and rush through us. We are the water, the water is us….

Where We Find Our Roots Mural

Where We Find Our Roots

Our design celebrates the incredible beauty of the Don River and its surrounding waterways. It pays tribute to the traditional keepers of the land, its current residents, and its potential futures. “Tkaronto” is a Mohawk word that translates to “where trees stand in water”. The focal point of our piece is a tree emerging from…

KUSIKUS Mural

KUSIKUS

The wavy pattern in my mural is based on a textile pattern that dates back to pre-colonial Philippines around the 1400s. It is referred to as ‘kusikus’ (pronounced koo-SEE-koos), which means ‘whirlpool’, ‘whirlwind’ or ‘going in circles’ in Ilocano (an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines and by my family). The pattern was used for…

TKARANTO PAST, TKARANTO FUTURE

Tkaranto Past, Tkaranto Future

This mural by Indigenous artists Odinamaad, Chief Lady Bird, Dave Monday Oguorie, and Philip Cote, tells the story about Tkaranto being a meeting place for all people: first, for Indigenous nations for travel, trade, hunting and fishing, and in present day, for people who come here from around the globe to gather on the traditional…

A blue background with an eagle soaring across the wall. The left side of  the image has an apple tree, with apple blossoms on its branches.

First Peoples Mural

In artist Lorne Julien’s own words, the mural’s imagery includes “the eagle (kitpu) [which] is an important animal to the Mi’kmaw people (L’nu’k). It symbolizes respect, love and protection. When an eagle shows up in your path, it is seen as a good and hopeful sign, a good moment to show gratitude and send prayers….

A wall is painted in red, yellow and orange shapes. The shapes form the wings and beck of a Thunderbird.

Mikisew

Peatr is an Ininew/Anishinaabe artist. The mural “Mikisew” – meaning “eagle” in the Ininew language – is made up of the Ininew syllabics ‘sah’ ‘kih’ ‘tah’, which make the Ininew word for “love.” The syllabics are overlayed with the silhouette of an eagle, which is part of the 7 Sacred Grandfather Teachings and represents love.

Photo of wide concrete pillars under a bridge with murals painted on the three pillars visible. Murals are dominantly blue and aquatic in effect with waves and fish in the background. At the centre of each pillar and in the middle of the water effect are indigenous designs of people and animals interacting within a circular frame.

Spirit Stories

10 murals painted along the edge of the Humber River under Old Mill subway station by Philip Cote supported by Artworx TO, starting with the Anishinaabe creation story of the beginning of the universe.