Indigenous artists unveil new work in Ontario after months of pandemic isolation

Some Indigenous artists have unveiled new work in Ontario after months of pandemic isolation, saying the discovery of burial sites at Indian residential schools has put a new spotlight on their history and culture.

"Indigenous artists to me are more than just artists," says artist Nyle Miigizi Johnston. "They are ourtraditional knowledge keepers. They are our song keepers. They paint imagery of historic contexts,of future contexts, of present contexts. To me, they are everything."

One pieceunveiled in Toronto on Saturday was the Story-telling Mural in Central Hospital Lane, between Carlton Street and Gerrard Street East, one block east of Sherbourne Street. The mural has been in the works for a year and a half.

The mural, which is a series of paintings, is part ofToronto's first healing corridor.

ArtworxTO: Toronto's Year of Public Art 20212022, a year-long celebration of art and communityin Toronto,fundedthe project. The year celebrates the city'spublic art collection and the artists behind it.

The main mural was painted byJohnston and artist Monica Wickeler. Under their supervision, two smaller muralswere painted byfive Indigenous youth artists, with the help of Finding Our Power Together, anon-profit organization that worksto support Indigenous youth in Torontoto gain access to the resources they seek to achieve their goals.

Johnston said a mural is an art form that is a medium of storytelling and a vehicle for the revitalization of Indigenous language.

"The Ojibwe people have such a long history of painting on rocks. Look at the pictographs found all over the Great Lakes," he said. "To me, that is sacred imagery that is called upon to the direct the people."

Project reclaims lanewaywith colour, artist says

Added Wickeler: "What we envisioned is reclaiming the laneway with storytelling murals, with colour, with native species, medicinal plants and taking some of the empty concrete spaces and filling them with life and colour, and in that, creating the healing."

The mural depicts a traditionalIndigenous story entitled "The Gift of the Jewelweed," which details thediscovery of the medicinalproperties of the jewelweed by Indigenous people.

"Art is medicine," Johnston said.

A description of the project reads: "The intentions of this project are to help urbanites reconnect with the land, its history, and the people who care for and have tended it so that we may all recognize the potential of reciprocal acts of healing between us and nature."

Healing gardens located alongthe Central Hospital Lanehave beenplanted with native, traditional medicinal and edible plant species andpay homage to Dr. Oronhyatekha, one of Canada's first licensed medical practitioners and a Mohawk physician and scholar.

Meanwhile, in Stratford, Ont., Tracey Nepinak is starring in a recently launched production of The Rez Sisters at Stratford Festival. The play, which opened on July 23, runs until August 21. The play by Indigenous playwright Tomson Highway portraysseven women from a reserve who go to Toronto in the hopes of winningatthe world's largest bingo.

Nepinak, who plays the character of Philomena Moosetail, said people are paying attention to Indigenous stories now more than ever.

"I think, in light of everything that happened over the pandemic...it's really an important time to look at these issues that we've been dealing withfor a long, long time. They are still relevant today, maybe even more so now," Nepinak said.

"I think eyes and ears are wide open for listening, for trying to find some understanding about where we come from."

But not all Indigenous artists are thriving. Prior to the pandemic, in May 2019, the Ontario governmenteliminateda $5 million Indigenous Culture Fund, and lockdownshavemade the funding situation worse.

Organization raising funds to help Indigenous artists

Charles C. Smith, executive director ofCultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario, said the organization has launched aGoFundMe campaign to raise money for artists who are Indigenous, Black and People of Colour and who it hires for its annual events.

The organization describesitselfasa IBPOC-led movement of Indigenous and racialized artists engaged in empowering the arts communities of Ontario.

Itis planning an event this December. Its theme will beArt in the Time of Healing.

Smith said IBPOC artists are not as well recognized and compensated as white artists.

"For us, it's important to make sure that we can provide opportunities for their work to be seen and for them to talk about their practice,where it comes from, how they are creating their work today and what it means to our arts ecologyin Canada,"Smith said.