The Town of Newmarket celebrated National Indigenous History Month with the unveiling today of a new art piece by Indigenous artist Donald Chrétien at Fairy Lake Park.
The piece is the seventh in a new series of trail markers featuring pollinators across York Region called the Experience Trail Markers Project.
Chrétien, who previously produced a series of 10 totems along Newmarket's Tom Taylor Trail, is a renowned artist whose career spans 30 years and includes a 2010 Winter Olympics installation on permanent display in Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum.
The piece itself is shaped like a magnifying glass to represent looking into nature with the base of it being shaped like a “Y” for York Region, representing the chickadee, or Gijigijigaaneshinh.
“The chickadee is a hard-working bird,” said Chrétien. “My mother was always a chickadee to me, so this one is close to my heart”
Having an impact on the region and community he lived in for 20 years has meant a lot to Chrétien.
“It’s amazing that when people come to visit and they want to go see my sculptures,” he told NewmarketToday. “I’m close to quite a few people who came out today and it’s an honour to have this here and have a legacy here.”
Chrétien was a guest speaker this year on International Colour Day (March 21) for the Colour Research Society of Canada and getting to use different colours on this project to tell the story of the chickadee has been a thrill for him.
“It’s an awesome project for me because of the colour theory behind this stuff,” he said. “I use a lot of colours that vibrate, so it puts more energy into the art when one colour is next to another. It’s just like people, when you get beside someone it boosts your energy. Every little bit about this project has been amazing.”
National Indigenous Peoples Day was June 21, and Mayor John Taylor said art pieces like this are part of Newmarket's ongoing effort to try and do its part to recognize the Indigenous community today and in the past and to participate in truth and reconciliation.
“This is an extremely special day for Newmarket,” he said. “Having public art reminding people of the Indigenous presents with Don Chrétien, who has lived for a very long time in Newmarket, represents an opportunity for people to stop and think about the Indigenous presents today and how art can draw you into thought. I hope people do take the time to pause and give that thought because truth and reconciliation can’t be one day a year.”
Having previously lived in an Indigenous community in Manitoba, Taylor said it helped him understand the importance of truth and reconciliation today and he’s proud that Newmarket has played its part in truth and reconciliation.
“It helped me absorb the history of our country in a different and authentic and accurate way,” he said. “To take opportunities like this and with Don 10 years ago, we continue to be a part of this healing journey. This will be a teacher to our community on a daily basis and that’s a powerful contribution to us. For me, on a personal level, this is special.”
The reason the project is focused on pollinators throughout York Region, and specifically the chickadee in Newmarket, is because of the important role they play in food production that shows the value of every living creature. That’s a reality the Indigenous people have understood for generations, said Newmarket-Aurora MPP Dawn Gallagher Murphy.
“Science now understands what the Indigenous ancestors knew all along, pollinators are essential in the growth of food, plants, and trees,” Gallagher Murphy explained. “Without pollinators, agricultural food production would disappear and plant life would diminish. This is why pollination is so important. Today symbolizes the complex and intricate workings of nature.”
The York Region Arts Council has worked with Chrétien and Ojibwe elder Shelley Charles, Georgina Island First Nation, on the project in an effort to link the region with each piece representing a different pollinator. The other six artworks in the region unveiled thus far have been in Georgina (moth), Vaughan (hummingbird), Aurora (bee and firefly), King township (butterfly) and Whitchurch-Stouffville (blue jay)
“We’re actually coming forward and making a public statement to bring everyone together, I like to call it reconciliACTION,”said Monica Pain, arts council director of programming and operation. “It’s about bringing people together through art and through more difficult conversations. Each location that’s been chosen (for the Experience Trail Markers Project) because it has signified itself as a community leader exemplifying a commitment to building community, supporting the environment, and contributing to the path toward truth and reconciliation.”
Chrétien, the Town of Newmarket, and York Region Arts Council are encouraging the community to take pictures of the piece and share it online to help connect the community. On the back of the piece there’s a QR code that provides more information about the collaborators, the project, and truth and reconciliation.
