Niska Noel takes over the Timmins Museum
Indigenous artisans are displaying and selling their cultural creations at a two-day craft show in Timmins.
Niska Noel has taken over the Timmins Museum, as a way to support local craftspeople and showcase local Indigenous culture.
The event is an opportunity for local Indigenous groups to share their traditions. It also provides an opportunity to bring attention to the creative craftwork of artisans from Timmins and area First Nations.
Over a dozen vendors are selling artwork rooted in culture passed down for generations.
"We started off with the soapstone carvings, the wife and I. We’ve been doing it for 45 years, over 45 years, I guess now," said local artist John Etherington.
"Then we started doing different stuff and that … feathers and some paintings that I do."
This is the third Niska Noel in Timmins and organizers told CTV News the interest from the community has grown each year.
Originally starting off as a one-day event organized between the museum and the Mennonite Central Committee, it has expanded to a weekend showcase. Organizers of the event now also include the Ojibway and Cree Cultural Centre and the Timmins Native Friendship Centre.
"When the Indigenous artists are creating these moccasins and beaded handwork, these are traditions that they’ve carried on," said Monica Towsley, the program co-ordinator for the museum.
"I think with, especially in this time, when we’re looking for truth and reconciliation and learning about their culture, that we have this opportunity to come meet the actual artisans and purchase something from them … is just a step in the right direction."
Towsley added that it is a chance to directly support Indigenous businesses.
One artist was looking for a way to support herself during the pandemic, so Feather Metatawabin decided to honour her late father and fellow artist Gordon Goodwin by selling prints of his cultural work along with her own creations.
"I’m always humbled by the amount of people who recognize his art," she said.
"Because we literally came from nothing and now people still buy his art and he passed away 12 years ago."
The event continues Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Timmins Museum where attendees can sample bannock-on-a-stick and register to learn to make a dreamcatcher, if space is still available.
For more information on the event, visit the Timmins Museum National Exhibition Centre’s Facebook page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Drone footage shows Ukrainian village battered to ruins as residents flee Russian advance
The Ukrainian village of Ocheretyne has been battered by fighting, drone footage obtained by The Associated Press shows. The village has been a target for Russian forces in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Police arrest 3 Indian nationals in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.