Winnipeg artist's Mtis beadwork highlights new collectible silver coin from Royal Canadian Mint

The Royal Canadian Mint in Winnipeg unveiled a new collectible coin on Tuesday celebrating the history of the Red RiverMtisfeaturing art from a celebrated local artist.

The silver coin, designed by Jennine Krauchi, features traditionalMtisbeadworkand Michif, the official language of theMtisNation.

"This is the story of us as Mtisand the struggles that we went throughand, actually, the happy times, too," Krauchi said Tuesday asthe coin was unveiled.

Her design features an infinity symbol representing the immortality of the nation, flames that denote the hardships the people have faced, a rose representingthe survival of the Mtis, androots that go into the Red River.

"Believe in yourself. Believe inMtis"is written in Michifon the coin.

Krauchisaid that during her creative processshe thought about her people, but especially the women who came before her "and brought this beautiful art form that we can now call an art form," she said."At one point it was called a craft."

Alex Reeves, thesenior manager of the Royal Canadian Mint, says this coin is one in a series of collectibles that feature Indigenous art that celebrate"passing on traditional knowledge from one generation to the next to preserve overall Indigenous culture and heritage through art andthrough the spoken word."

Stakeholders from Inuit, Mtisand First Nations communities have been consulted in each case about how to illustrate their story and how it will be shared with the rest of Canada, Reeves says.

"They picked the artistsas opposed to us traditionally doing that they found artists, they solicited concepts, and we worked with them hand-in-hand to pick what looked best on a coin," he said.

"We're very delighted to see Jennine Krauchi produce an amazing beadwork design that looks absolutely fantastic on a on a coin."

The limited editionRed RiverMtis coin there are only 5,000 is 99.99 per cent pure silver and retails for $100.