Tuesday marks the 20th anniversary of National Aboriginal Day — a chance to celebrate the heritage, culture and achievements of Inuit, Métis and First Nations people in Canada.
In Halifax, the occasion coincided with the unveiling of a new art project, called “This Is What I Wish you Knew,” which has been months in the making.
“Today, my heart swells with pride,” said Debbie Eisan, a participant in the project and the Community Planner at the Mi’kmaw Friendship Centre.
The mural project, made up of various painted clay tiles, stems from recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and brought together 50 different artists from around the Halifax Regional Municipality.
“We wanted to tell HRM and anyone who saw these tiles, what we wish you knew about the Urban Aboriginal population. It’s a way of moving forward with the reconciliation,” said Eisan.
Kamisha Hammond, one of the artists who participated in the project, says she wanted to help bring awareness about the struggles aboriginal people face.
“My tile is mainly just to talk around the fact of emotions and that’s the title for my tile. It’s to talk about the fact that emotions are part of everyone’s life.”
READ MORE: New Heritage Minute highlights shame of Canada’s residential schools
David Ladoucer’s tile is about his journey and what events have brought him to this point in his life.
“As an urban Aboriginal in my youth, you’re always denied who you are, that you could thrive and function within the city environment,” he said.
Ladoucer says moving to Halifax 23 years ago helped shape who he is today.
“I lost myself along the way so I was always in the darkness, I got into lots of trouble, of my own doing, I’m not blaming anybody else. It was just a matter of being able to find myself,” he said.
Ladoucer’s tile shows the scales of justice, a dream catcher and his children. “I started to realize these are dreams that I had, that I wanted to bring my children up in a great environment,” he said.
For many artists like Ladoucer, the project is incredibly important.
“You never really express yourself truly and through this project, I was able to draw those emotions and dig deep inside and set them free right,” he said.
“When they say a picture is worth a thousand words, to me, this is a million words. This is my life. This is my rebirth, my re-emergence.”
Some of the tiles from the art project will be moving across Canada, but the majority will remain in a permanent display at the Mi’kmaw Friendship Centre on Gottingen Street in Halifax.
Each of the tiles also has a QR code that once scanned, will have a link to an online video of the artist, who will explain their work and what it means to them.
“The website will have the videos on it but the tiles will be here for anyone to come to see them, to visit them and look at them whenever they want to,” said Eisan.