Indigenous mural art, painted by First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people, reflects their contemporary and traditional values, stories, experiences, and ideas.
This mural was a part of Astum Api Niikinaahk, an Indigenous-led housing project at Circle of Life Thunderbird House, the goal of the project to end and bring attention to homelessness. Five Indigenous artists were invited to create public art for the new housing site.
Located on the Main Street Project building, this mural was painted in recognition of the first National Truth & Reconnciliation Day. Bright orange ribbons stretch across this mural honouring those we lost, and eagle figures represent the act of taking their spirits to peace. The turtle (miskwaadesi) is seen in between the ribbons represents the bringing of truth. To the left of the scene is a mother and child, highlighting the importance of a mothers’ protection, prayers and leadership for our children. The white outline represent the guidance of The Great Spirit. This mural acts as a reminder for us to recognize the tragedy of residential schools, missing children, survivors and the families affected.
This mural is located on the Main Street Project Emergency Shelter, painted by artists Peatr Thomas and Muuke Valcourt. The colous used within the syllabics of the mural were swatched from the colours of the ProtectOur PeopleMB campaign. This campaign’s goal was to provide vaccines for First Nations communities across the province. The syllabics read “”Nanakchiishinam (na-na-ka-chii-shi-nam), meaning “”Protect Us/People”” in Anishinaabewomin, the language of the Anishinaabe people.
This painting is called ‘black snake defeated’ and depicts the fields of war I stood on in 2016, when pipeline security deployed attack dogs on peaceful Indigenous water protectors at Oceti Sakowin in the early days of Standing Rock. The painting represents the full story arc of how colonization has turned us against each other: the figures holding the dogs, and those being attacked by them, are one and the same.
This mural is located on the Nonsuch Brewing Co. building, a prominently Indigenous-owned brewery in Winnipeg. The imagery reflects their connections to Métis Leader and Manitoban Louis Riel.
This mural was part of a project by Creative Retirement, the making of “The Labyrinth of Lifelong Learning,” a mural also at this location. KAYAK is short for Kommunity and Youth Art Konsortium, which consisted of students from Mulvey school, Wolseley Family Place and from Art City, all who helped create this piece. The mural represents indigenous values and the medicine wheel. One panel reads; “All Nations Hold These Teachings.” Different coloured hands hold animals which represent different teachings. The last two panels show a heart and a sun. The heart consists of many faces within it, showing that love paves the path for all our relations. The sun is the provider of light and energy, and is filled with flowers which symbolize this life.
Sweet grass is a gift from Mother Earth. It is said to be part of her hair and the use of sweet grass promotes strength and kindness. When braiding sweet grass each strand of the braid represents mind, body and spirit. It is also important to remember the teaching of the sweet grass braid and walk that way when wearing a braid in our own hair. Smudging: The aroma of burning sweet grass has a calming effect and thus promotes kind thoughts. When smudging with sweet grass it is important to honour the hair of mother earth by smudging our own hair with the smoke. Prayer and Ceremony: Since sweet grass promotes strength and kindness it is often used in healing circles and during ceremony to allow positive energy, kind thoughts and kind feelings to surface through any pain and suffering.
Bubzee and Sage Nowak work together to combine the ancient art of the Pacific Northwest coast First Nations and settler pagan mysticism. Sage’s traditional art is glimpse into the supernatural world making visions tangible. Bubzee is a powerful wind; from the howl a whisper tells old stories that bring you to the roots of magic in nature. Their works weave together two cultures creating a powerful tapestry of reclamation. Their work is political, environmental, and spiritual. Their art creates awareness and touches on topics such as missing and murdered indigenous woman, fish farms, land and water defense, and indigenous/human rights issues in a variety of mediums including sculpture, painting, printing, beading, fashion, design, and performance. They are both professional independent artist that have been collaborating over the past five years and will continue into the future.
The mural represents the “Indigenous significance of the Inglewood area where the Bow and Elbow rivers meet, recognizing past and present, the existing vibrant community and a connected future through stewardship of the land.”
The mural has two separate but connected pieces.
First, the mural on the wall depicts eagle feathers, animal tracks, and the confluence of the Elbow and Bow Rivers. Both artists felt the symbolism in the mural mattered most.
The eagle feather is the feather of a golden eagle that has lost its spots and is now an adult eagle.
This mural is located on the RaY building (Resource Assistance for Youth). It is a fragment of what was a larger mural located in front the pedestrian walkway at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, during the construction of the Inuit Art Centre Qaumajuq. The larger mural was displayed until Qaumajuq’s opening in 2021.
This mural was painted by participants from RaY inc. (Resource Assistance for Youth), a nonprofit organization that supports youth in Winnipeg. The project was led by Jessica Canard. It depicts four figures smudging in a field, representing the diversity of Winnipeg’s West Broadway community. To the left is a map of the city, with its two main rivers prominently visible; the Red River and the Assiniboine. This is a reminder of the importance of our rivers, and their role as the original trade routes of Turtle Island.
This work creates a bridge between my identity as a Metis woman and these waterways, with the intent to recognize both the beauty of the rivers and the importance of these water systems for Indigenous people of our region.
This mural, depicting a black-indigenous woman, addresses Canada’s history of erasure Black & Indigenous stories and culture. The woman is seen smoking a cigarette in front of a natural landscape with birds above her head. She wears a garment with details of maple leaves on it. The yellow circles inside white squares is a symbol that was created by the artist and represents unity, but also the feeling of being stuck, spinning, and being controlled and blind.
This mural was designed for Parks Canada to raise awareness for the White Bark Pine Tree- an endangered species in the National Parks. after a National Artist call out that Parks Canada I was so honoured to be chosen to design and paint this mural
This is a piece that speaks towards the history of the residential school system and powerfully depicts the survival and strength of Indigenous people, even through historical violence. Kalum paints a girl in traditional regalia with her buffalo skull staff, ravens fly around her ushering her forward. This mural sits high above Mohkinstsis, on High Park and should serve as a reminder of what it really means for all of us to exist on this land, and how much more work there needs to be done for true reconciliation. At BUMP we hope to continue programming incredible Indigenous muralists whose public art shifts our perspectives in real time, whose transformation of public spaces around the city is necessary and profound.
This piece was created to reflect the emergence of a new generation of Métis and Métis artists reconnecting with their culture, homelands, medicines, and Kin. Riel is often referenced and quoted when it comes to the emergence and depiction of our people. In this mural I wanted to reference my Cousin Valarie Campbell as a young matriarch.
Exploring the shared iconographic relationships and cultural usage of Buffalo, Deer and Elk hide in First Nation cultural storytelling in addition to the Romanticised ‘Western’ Aesthetic of North America.
The Buffalo with the Camp and simple landscape represents all the Buffalo Nations that hunted and lived off the Buffalo. The dragonflies represents the month
of August and also I wanted to tie the Beltline mural project with it…. during August and late July the dragonflies are in full effect and is good to help time the
changes in the seasons. Under them are traditional otter designs which are common design in Treaty7 territory. The riders are youth and elder riding together
representing parenting, mentoring, and the balance.
Bunker mural by Danielle Hyde (@cocreation_art) supported by stART Toronto, 2023.
Mural by Peatr Thomas (@thunderbird4311) for the 2023 KJ BIT Laneway jam, with the theme “GLOW.” Supported by Canada Council for the Arts and the Toronto Arts Council.
The project, an initiative inspired by Murdoch and acclaimed artist and activist Christi Belcourt, was designed to help the two artists get their message out to the public. That message, noted Murdoch “is simply to create awareness that water is important to us all and as such we are encouraging every Canadian to stand up and do something positive for the environment. If we can find the strength and resolve to work together for the betterment of the planet, then we have taken a step forward in helping to ensure that humankind will be able to survive well into the future. You cannot overstate the importance of a healthy environment and that begins by protecting our water. To emphasize that importance, we became involved in creating two murals on the same weekend, one in Edmonton and the other in Ottawa.
Part of Rado Alley Mural Fest
Rado Alley 107-108 Streets (north of 82 Ave, back alley)
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