Edmonton’s first outdoor Indigenous art park, which will also be the first in the country, now has a name.
The naming committee recently approved the name ᐄᓃᐤ (ÎNÎW) River Lot 11∞ for the park located within Queen Elizabeth Park.
The name is pronounced “EE-NU River Lot 11.”
“ᐄᓃᐤ (ÎNÎW)” means “I am of the Earth” in Cree, while “River Lot 11” acknowledges the historic river lot that was originally the home of Métis settler Joseph McDonald.
The theme of the park and the art pieces will be “the stories in This Place.” It will be a place to permanently exhibit Indigenous artwork and will feature six pieces of art by Canadian Indigenous artists.
Work on creating the park started in 2013; construction will begin in the spring and it is expected to open in fall 2018.
“The name, ᐄᓃᐤ (ÎNÎW) River Lot 11∞, honours the land and our first people while continuing to be a welcoming place for all Edmontonians,” Mayor Don Iveson said in a statement.
“On behalf of the original inhabitants the Indigenous peoples of our ancestral lands, I give our sincerest appreciation for all those have worked to make the ᐄᓃᐤ (ÎNÎW) River Lot 11∞ Art Park a reality,” said Treaty No. 6 Grand Chief Wilton Littlechild in a statement.
Earlier this year, the federal government gave the City of Edmonton $500,000 for the second phase of Queen Elizabeth Park; some of which will go towards the development of the park.
The park is located southeast of the Kinsmen Sports Centre in the North Saskatchewan River valley.
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