TRC Calls to Action Bus Shelter Art

Provided by Indigenous artist Vanessa Hyggen:

The artwork’s storytelling begins on the left panel, with family members on a walk trying to find answers. The woman burns sage to pray for their loved one to be brought home. The smoke from the sage turns into northern lights in panels 2, 3, and 4. Northern lights represent ancestors who’ve gone before them, then return, dancing in the sky to bring home those who’ve recently passed. This panel was done in yellow to indicate a time of hope.  

The back panels focus on the missing loved one. There is a missing spot in the family line in the background, the footsteps lead to the woman and her heartbeat is stopped. The empty spot is important, that space is a void in the family, the role of daughter, mother, sister, aunt, friend, are all disrupted. That void is always present for those who've lost their loved ones. There is a starkness in the scene, illustrating the intensity of the loss and void in the family. These panels are done in red - the colour that has become synonymous with MMIWG. Red has been said to signify a call for attention, bringing awareness to the issue of so many of our Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people going missing, many whose lives have been taken in violence. 

The right panel tells of the rattle bringing the family's prayers and the eagle is carrying those prayers. The family has found their answers and are able to start healing from the grief of their loved one being taken from them, knowing provides some closure, but the loss is always present. This panel is lavender in colour to indicate healing. Unfortunately, not every family has answers, and so we call on anyone who may have answers to bring them forward. 

The ceiling reads: the silence is killing us. break the silence. This is a call to action for anyone who may know something, there are many families still without any answers. 

The City and Saskatoon Transit wish to thank the Committee members who were a part of this project:

• Corine Eyahpaise
• Pauline Okemow
• Judy Greyeyes
• Sheila Ledoux
• Brian Gallagher
• Lindsey Bishop
• Jordy Ironstar
• Faith Bosse
• Paul Trottier

Indigenous women and girls are 12 times more likely to be murdered or missing than non-Indigenous women and girls. The following are loved ones of Committee members. There are many more women and girls and two-spirit persons who are missing or murdered and not named here.

• Daleen Kay Bosse (Muskego)
• Date of Birth: March, 25 1979
• Went missing May 18, 2004, her remains were found in 2008 outside of Martensville, SK. 
  • Eliza Faith Bosse is the daughter of the late Daleen Bosse. 
     
• Mackenzie Lee Trottier
  • Date of Birth: June 18, 1998
  • Date Missing: December 21, 2020
  • Mackenzie Lee Trottier was last seen by family in the 300 block of Trent Crescent on December 21, 2020. Her family members and police are concerned that she may be in a vulnerable state. She is loved and missed so much!
  • Anyone with information on Mackenzie's whereabouts is asked to contact the Saskatoon Police Service.
  • Learn more: findmackenziet.com
    • Paul Trottier is the father of Mackenzie Lee Trottier. 
       
• Marsha Louisa Okemow
  • Date of Birth: January 4, 1973
  • Date of Death: July 1989
  • Brutally murdered in Prince Albert at the age of 16.
    • Pauline Okemow is the sister of the late Marsha Okemow. 
       
• Shelly Napope
  • How does one put in words the loss of a loved one taken too soon? Shelly was a sister, daughter, cousin, niece, and friend of her family who loved and cared for her very much. We each have a void in our hearts and lives. Shelly loved the people in her life there was nothing she wouldn't do for them.
    • Sheila LeDoux is the aunt of the late Shelly Napope. 
       
• Two-Spirit Individuals
  • Jordy Ironstar says: I serve this project committee for my fellow Two Spirit relatives across Turtle Island who have gone missing and who's journey were cut short due to violence. You are loved.
     
• Megan Michelle Gallagher 
  • Date of Birth: April 9, 1990
  • Date of Death: September 20, 2020
  • Brian Gallagher is the father of the late Megan Gallagher.

• Saskatoon Police Service Missing Persons
• Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police Missing Persons
• MissingKids.ca

Silences kills. If you know something, it's time to say something.

• 9-1-1 for immediate assistance
• Saskatoon Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (anonymous)
• Saskatoon Police Service at 306-975-8300

• Read the MMIWG Calls for Justice
• Read the MMIWG National Action Plan
• Read the City of Saskatoon Coming Home Report
• Support frontline organizations doing the work. Volunteer or donate.
• Indigenous Women and Girls and Two Spirit persons need support, safety, trust, respect, education, employment.

To coincide with Indigenous History Month and Indigenous Peoples Day, Saskatoon Transit has been unveiling a bus shelter displaying Indigenous artwork each June. These shelters reaffirm Saskatoon Transit’s commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #79.  

The fourth shelter (see photo below) was unveiled on June 22, 2022 at 885 Confederation Drive:

This latest installment of bus shelter artwork is the result of a collaboration between the Saskatoon Survivors Circle and Indigenous artist, Justine "Tini" Stilborn. Stilborn worked to capture the reflections of the Survivors using visual art. She sought to tell the story of their past including the atrocities of residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, and those resulting from the child welfare and foster care system. But the artwork is also intended to capture the Survivors’ hopes for the future.  

Stilborn created her designs using Procreate and Adobe Illustrator which were then cut out of metal sheets by Metal Shapes Manufacturing. 

The Story

• The artwork’s storytelling begins with the Sixties Scoop depicting young Indigenous children being taken from their homes and families. This panel was done in red to convey the stereotype of the red skin of Indigenous people and the bloodshed and pain experienced.  
• The back panels illustrate Indigenous children’s involuntary assimilation to euro-western culture shown by the cutting of their hair. These panels also show Indigenous children being removed from their homes in more contemporary times, bridged by shoes that represent the unmarked graves of residential school children. The hands at the top reflect the broken connection between Indigenous generations and the yearning to reconnect. These panels were done in orange to align with orange shirt day and the EveryChildMatters movement.  
• The final panel is designed to elicit a sense of freedom as Indigenous people return to their cultural practices and reconnect with their ancestors. This panel is yellow to represent hope and joy.  
• For the first time, art was also added to the ceiling of the bus shelter. This part of the piece depicts children's faces in the clouds. The artist says this represents "the dawn of a new day where Indigenous persons can celebrate their babies again without the fear of having them taken".

Saskatoon Transit and students from the E.D. Feehan Newcomer Youth Engagement Program (NYEP) and the miyo mâcihowin program met with Métis Elder Nora Cummings, First Nations Elder Harry Lafond, and Newcomer Community Leader, Senos Timon to create and design a bus shelter on the north side of Rusholme Road, west of Avenue M by their school.  

Saskatoon Transit wanted to work on Truth and Reconciliation Call to Action, #93. This Call to Action calls to revise the information kit for newcomers to Canada to reflect a more inclusive history of the diverse Aboriginal people of Canada.  

The students from the NYEP and miyo mâcihowin program reflected on Elder Cummings and Lafond’s teachings with inspiration from Newcomer Community Leader Senos Timon to create this piece of art. One of the themes that continued to pop up was the idea that we are all different and should be proud of that, and remember who we are and reach out to one another.  

The student’s artwork was put together by Muveddet Al-Katib, an immigrant artist working with the NYEP as an art educator. Then laser cut by Metal Shapes Manufacturing. 

Saskatoon Transit and students from Nutana Collegiate worked together with Elder Harry Lafond to create the design of a new bus shelter at 12th Street and Broadway Avenue.  

Transit engaged 10 students from the Nutana Industry and Career Education program. The students reflected on Elder Lafond’s teachings and the following words emerged to represent their story: 

• Life 
• Beauty
• Love 
• Growth 
• Connection 
• Sacrifice 
• Healing 
• Regeneration 
• Plants 
• Community 

The students produced designs that were inspired by Elder Harry Lafond’s traditional teachings of Indigenous history and values. They were then laser cut by Metal Shapes Manufacturing.  

As part of the City’s commitment to Reconciliation, a Saskatoon Transit bus shelter was designed in collaboration with students from Aden Bowman Collegiate and Saskatoon Metis Elder, Senator Nora Cummings.

Transit was responding to TRC Call to Action #79, calling upon the government, Aboriginal organizations and the arts community, to develop a reconciliation framework for Canadian heritage and commemoration, including integrating Indigenous history, heritage values and memory practices into Canada’s history.

The artwork was inspired by Métis history, heritage, values and the memories of Senator Elder Nora Cummings. Elder Cummings spoke specifically to the landscape and the people of the area where Aden Bowman is situated and shared pictures of what the area looked like when she was a young girl.

The students were asked to create original, timeless and commemorative art that celebrates the Métis heritage, history, values and memories of Elder Cummings. They created the art for the bus shelter using inspiration from their session with Elder Cummings, keeping in mind the functionality and design of the shelter. 

The design was then laser cut by Metal Shapes Manufacturing.