The City of Melfort celebrate the connection to the people of James Smith Cree Nation with a new mural unveiled on Sept. 26.
The City of Melfort, Northern Lights Gallery and the Melfort Arts Council unveiled ‘Making Memories’, a mural created by celebrated Canadian Cree artist Jerry Whitehead. The piece is located on the side of the Melfort Fire Hall.
Brenda Mellon, the Cultural Coordinator for the City of Melfort, said that the unveiling had about 100 people in attendance.
“The weather was beautiful and it was great to see so many people out,” Mellon said.
The list included community members, elementary, high school, and college students and representatives from Peter Chapman First Nation, of which Whitehead is a member.
The mural pays tribute to the connection between the James Smith Cree Nation and Melfort and show appreciation to Melfort and everyone who stepped up in the wake of the mass stabbings that occurred at James Smith Cree Nation in 2022.
Whitehead was also pleased to see so many people in attendance.
“It was a good unveiling,” he said. “It was early in the morning, but it’s had a nice little crowd. It’s not bad for a mural, for a Thursday and on the side of a road.”
Mellon acted as emcee for the event, after a smudge and a drumming performance by the Digging Bear Drummers there were greetings from Elder Ron Paul, Peter Chapman Band Chief Robert Head, and Melfort Mayor Glenn George.
Mellon gave an overview of the project, thanked donors and described the contribution of other artists.
“The focus of course was what the mural represents,” Mellon said. “It’s all about the power of community art and how it connects people and it reflects our shared stories. The overall goal is creating a place where everyone belongs. I think it’s a great reminder of the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action which call on all of us to recognizes and support Indigenous art as an expression of culture and resilience and identity.
“We also acknowledged the creativity and contributions of other local artists who contributed towards the project and were honored to be able to paint alongside Jerry.”
Terry Lynn Bouvier, Syndel Thomas Kozar, Sophie Dancy, Carla Tyacke, and Mellon all had the opportunity to contribute to the work. Mellon said they each worked with Whitehead on the piece in the Melfort Historic Post Office at different times in the process.
“We all contributed in our own small way,” Mellon said. “It was just an honour to be able to paint with Jerry and to see his process up close.”
Whitehead said the artists contributed to the chuckwagons, Historic Post Office and assisted with colouring and other parts of the project.
Kozar, who is Indigenous, could not attend the event to speak, but shared a written statement about the significance of the project and what it meant for her to paint alongside Jerry Whitehead.
“In the short time we spent together, he taught me so much — about humility, about valuing yourself and your work, and about perspective,” the statement read. “He showed me that art isn’t just about the final image on the wall, but about the way we see the world around us. Jerry may not realize it, but those lessons left a deep impression on me. It was truly an honour to learn from someone I have admired for a long time.”
Whitehead said that he was happy with the way the mural turned out.
“It was like three years in the planning, right? It was just the funding that took time, but everything seemed to come together. I like the way we did it. We did it with these aluminium panels. They’re going to last a long time,” he said.
A view of the entire “Making Memories’ mural by Jerry Whitehead that was unveiled at the Melfort Fire Hall on Thursday, Sept. 26.
Peter Chapman Chief Robert Head speaks at the Making Memories’ mural unveiling at the Melfort Fire Hall on Thursday, Sept. 26.
Whitehead said that in the end the piece captured the unity between the three bands of James Smith and the community of Melfort.
“Although we’re always connected, right, I think it’s going to connect us a little more with this mural. It’s kind of an inviting mural,” Whitehead said.
He said that embedded in the piece is Hello in Cree and English with the word Melfort hidden in the dancers.
“It’s like a welcoming dance, coming into town kind of thing, and it’s morning, day, night, Northern Lights. It turned out nice,” Whitehead said.
Whitehead said the mural is partially about Truth and Reconciliation.
“It’s also kind of thanking the responders that came into James Smith for the tragedy, the firemen and all those EMTs, RCMP are represented in there and stuff like that. All that part is kind of included within the Melfort scene of the mural. I wanted to thank them that way also,” Whitehead said.
“Hopefully it will connect the communities together a little closer and to where we can work better down the road. That’s what I was trying to get at,” he added.
Whitehead was pleased so many students were in attendance to understand the power of the mural.
“It was really nice to see all the students there present and knowing that the mural’s just as much for them as it is for anyone and when you look at the future reconciliation and you know having them there to witness it and see the power of community,” Whitehead said.
There were also speeches by Affinity Credit Union CEO Nilesh Kavia, Melfort Fire Chief Leonard Whitney and Staff Sergeant Ryan Case of the RCMP Melfort Detachment.
The title sponsor of this project is Affinity Credit Union, joined by contributions from Prairie North Co-op, SIGA, Sauder Home Hardware, The City of Melfort and Northern Lights Gallery.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
