Edmonton elementary school creates mural to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day
In celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day, students from an elementary school in north Edmonton are working on a mural.
Classmates from St. Gerard Catholic Elementary School took the day to create and paint artwork on the Yellowhead wall with Indigenous symbols, recognizing First Nations, Métis and Inuit cultures.
“The importance behind every single one of them is to recognize every group,” Michelle St. Jean, a Grade 5 and 6 teacher at St. Gerard, said.
“We want Indigenous peoples to feel important, and today is really important for them to be recognized.”
The City of Edmonton approached the school to take part in the project a while back. After some discussions, the schools faculty collectively decided the best day to execute the project would be on the national day.
“The walls coming down and the kids wanted to commemorate National Indigenous Peoples Day with a little bit of different art,” St. Jean, added.
Following the discovery of the unmarked graves of 215 children at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C., Nadine Gunther, the principal of St. Gerard, said every teacher at the school took the time to tell their class what had happened and the history behind it.
“They are well aware of why we are doing this, and the importance of why we’re doing this,” Gunther commented.
“In order for them to do this, they think it’s quite an honour.”
National Indigenous Peoples Day was first celebrated in 1996.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Bob Cole, veteran CBC broadcaster and former voice of 'Hockey Night in Canada,' dead at 90
Bob Cole, legendary CBC broadcaster and former voice of Hockey Night in Canada, has died. He was 90.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.