If you’re driving by or riding the bus in Saskatoon you may notice new artwork on the bus shelters which are a depiction of what the Indigenous community has endured.
The artwork’s storytelling begins on the left panel, 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 depict 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, punctuated by shoes that represent the unmarked graves of residential school children. These panels were done in orange to align with orange shirt day and the Every Child Matters movement.
A panel in yellow represents hope and joy as Indigenous people return to their cultural practices and reconnect with their ancestors. For the first time there is also art on the ceiling of the bus shelter which depicts the dawn of a new day.
This year’s shelter, at 885 Confederation Drive, was created through a collaboration between the Saskatoon Survivors Circle and Indigenous artist, Justine “Tini” Stilborn. The other three Saskatoon Transit bus shelters which showcase Indigenous artwork are in front of Aden Bowman Collegiate, 12th Street and Broadway Avenue and at E.D. Feehan.
