Sudbury high school students create two Indigenous murals
Some new wall art was unveiled at a Greater Sudbury area high school Thursday to help celebrate National Indigenous History Month.
Around 150 students at École secondaire Hanmer took part in a project to create two Indigenous murals.
Indigenous mural made by students at Ecole secondaire Hanmer representing the future. June 1/23 (Alana Everson/CTV Northern Ontario)
Grade 10 student Jessica Gour calls the experience invaluable.
"I gained a lot of knowledge about Indigenous cultures and my grandma as Indigenous, but, unfortunately, she passed away before I could even learn a lot about the culture," Gour said.
"So this really brought out the Indigenous part in me and it made me experience things that I never would have experienced if I did not do this project."
A teacher who oversees inclusion and diversity at the school, Natalie Frappier, said the students came up with the concept after attending the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation event in Bell Park last September.
"We wanted a big project where we could really reflect on the past and the future and what the students and the staff could do to have a change," Frappier said.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
Artist Jessica Somers also helped students incorporate woodland art into the murals.
"The students were involved right from the beginning having that teaching creating the artwork and then teamwork and collaboration throughout the whole process," Somers said.
Stéphane Paquette, a well-known local francophone musician and actor, works as a cultural facilitator for Indigenous education for the Conseil scolaire du Grand Nord school board.
"Everyone in the school had a presentation on the importance and what the woodlands art style is. And then the artist in question, Jessica Somers, came in and worked with the students and made sure that the concept came from the students," Paquette said.
"The paint stokes and everything came from the students also."
The school's principal, Patrick Venne, was impressed with the end result.
"It's a project that I hope students take away that it's important to not forget the past, but at the same time too, you know, plan for the future to see what we can do differently," Venne said.
The murals that represent the past and future hang in the hallway outside of the school's history classroom.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.