Megan Kanerahtenha:wi Whyte

In collaboration with a local high school, a group of Indigenous students and myself worked together to create a mural for their new sacred space. Entitled “The everything memorial”, these students framed this experience as a way to acknowledge, honor and memorialize the Indigenous children who attended Indian Residential School and Indian Day schools. Although a piece of history, it is important to continue the conversation and awareness-building about the systemic injustices faced by Indigenous people because the long term effects in families are still present. Indigenous students and their families are continuing to reclaim their identity and culture. They are continuing to work through multigenerational trauma so that they can empower themselves to become who they are meant to be. The images, colors and narrative were put together by the students, with guidance of the art therapist. Through the process of making this mural, our conversations explored identity, trauma and growth as we all walk this path towards discovering ourselves as Indigenous people.

As an Indigenous Way of Knowing, we often share our teachings through story and the story of this mural is one of them. In our storyl, we meet three young people around a sacred fire. Fire connects us to Spirit, the energy that connects all life, and to Creator. Two youth, living in the present, sit with a spirit of a young person taken by the Residential School system. They grieve this young person, whose grave may be unmarked or lost, and grieve how this history impacts their families and themselves. But they also sit with wisdom, knowing that Spirit keeps us connected and our culture connects us to who we are. Around them lies the power of this connection, from the land, to the sky and to animals. The moon cycle reminds us that change is normal cycle in life and that we can continue to grow through our own changes. The roots remind us that we are resilient even if we are still trying to reconnect with who we are. The spirit animals remind us our individual gifts and teachers we have outside the school walls. They remind us that we are never alone and that healing will happen in connection. Our young artists have signed this image with a handprint to honor themselves and their resilience, gifts and wisdom. This story reminds of why Every Child Matters because there was a time when Indigenous children did not. It is also a reminder that we as a community, a school, a society have work to do to make culturally safe spaces. Spaces that are trauma-informed and understand the unique healing needs of Indigenous Children today. 

As Métis leader Louis Riel once said: “My people will sleep for one hundred years, but when they awake, it will be the artists who give them their spirit back.” The spirit of our young artists were indeed present!

During the fall of 2023, I was invited to create a mural space for the Indigenous students at a local high school. The intention was to bring to life an invitation for Indigenous students to connect at the entrance point of the allocated space. Through conversation, students provided ideas and inspiration for what’s important to them. Representation from different nations was established, with specific teachings along the seasons integrated.
Over the span of a few weeks, students were invited to connect and co-create with me. Providing a safe space to allow this mural to unfold, students were empowered to step out of their comfort zone, try new things and share some of their lived experience with myself as the art therapist.
I am so proud of all of them!