'I met with residential school survivors for inspiration': Indigenous murals unveiled in downtown London, Ont.
A panel of seven Indigenous murals was unveiled in downtown London, Ont. on Truth and Reconciliation Day.
A large crowd met at the corner of Colborne St. and Horton Street to view the
The “We Are Still Here” mural.
It is a joint project between the City of London, N’Amerind Friendship Centre and the London Arts Council.
Ojibwe educator and lead artist Mike Cywink worked with youth Indigenous artists and residential school survivors paint a portion of the mural.
The project aims to “honour the legacy of Residential School Survivors and the children who were lost through Canada’s Residential School System.”
“I met with the residential school survivor group first,” says Cywink.
“I heard some stories and then I came up with the designs myself. I designed them on my iPad and then I transferred the images onto the pieces of plywood, and then then we all painted.”
Cywink credited the people at N’Amerind with support in many areas including answering questions about the Haudenosaunee culture.
The project took two months as Cywink worked with youth Jaims and Jordain Mirasty and Sir Frederick Nicholas on the panels.
“I like knowing that I can come down the street, and I can look up at the side of the building and I can say that ‘I did that’’, says Nicholas, 16, a student at HB Beal Secondary School.
“I want them to understand what they mean and to know how much they mean to the indigenous community”.
Nicholas says it was tough this summer painting the murals because the air conditioning was broken on the second floor of N’Amerind during many of the hot days.
“There would be days when it was just so hot, but we still continue to do the work because this means a lot,” says Nicholas, whose great grandfather tried to escape Residential School 13 times.
“It's a great representation of our people that we haven't had for a long time. Now this is going to be out in the public for everybody to see and it just feels really nice to know that I was a part of that.”
Cywink wants those driving or walking by to think about healing, and the positive work being done to help make things better.
“A lot of indigenous people live with this pain and trauma 365 days a year,” says Cywink.
“I just want people to remember that it's nice on this day to see so many people wearing orange shirts, but people feel that negative stuff that goes along with the residential school system all the time. There is so many people out there putting in work to make things better for us.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
BREAKING Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
WATCH LIVE As GC Strategies partner is admonished by MPs, RCMP confirms search warrant executed
The RCMP confirmed Wednesday it had executed a search warrant at an address registered to GC Strategies. This development comes as MPs are enacting an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power, summoning one of its contractors to appear before the House of Commons to be admonished publicly for failing to answer questions related to the ArriveCan app.
Disappointment widespread over budget's proposed $200-month disability benefit funding
Advocacy groups across Canada are expressing widespread disappointment about the amount of funding earmarked in the 2024 federal budget for the long-awaited Canada Disability Benefit.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Former Sask. massage therapist who sexually assaulted clients has day parole revoked
A former massage therapist who pleaded guilty to a string of sexual assaults has had his day parole revoked.