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'I feel so honoured just to be a part of this': Indigenous exhibition at Alberta Aviation Museum

An art exhibition showcasing Indigenous moon cycles is on display at the Alberta Aviation Museum.

The artwork, created by a number of students from an Edmonton school, is part of the We Are All Flying Together exhibition.

“It feels amazing,” said Koda Bugler, a Grade 11 student. “I would never have thought in a million years that I would have my art in a museum

“It was so incredible to connect to my culture,” added Haylie Nahamko-White, a Grade 10 student. “It was an amazing opportunity to connect with so many people in the community… and so many other students who I would not have known otherwise.

“I feel so honoured just to be a part of this."

The museum reached out to the amiskwaciy Academy in Edmonton about having an Indigenous perspective on flight. Students in the school’s art club came up with the idea to use Indigenous moon cycles because the cycles have a number of bird-related titles.

“For Indigenous people, every month is its own moon, for Frog Moon, the whole reason it’s called Frog Moon is because in April you can hear the frogs croaking in the background,” said Chase Gordon, a Grade 7 student.

Nahamko-White’s piece represents the Frost Exploding Moon, a time of the year when the cold creates cracks in trees.

“The painting, the idea behind it was actually from a Cree storybook that I’d read,” said Nahamko-White. “What it is is a bear hibernating in an ice cave and on top you can see over top of it is the snow and the birch tree and I beaded the parts where the crack starts.”

“It’s cool to see how much of this land is really tied to the language and I think that’s really special, not every language has that level of depth and symbolism and connection,” added Stephanie Sakkab, the teacher who runs the art club at the academy.

“For me, as a non-Indigenous teacher it’s really powerful to learn about that and that is an act of reconciliation.”

It is hoped the exhibition will be a bridge connecting Indigenous and Western cultures, creating a welcoming space for all, according to Sakkab.

“When guests come to the museum they not only get to see the mixed-media art pieces, they have the opportunity to listen to the student voices and learn a bit of Cree as well as the student voices will be explaining the name of the moon pieces they did,” said Sakkab.

The artwork will be on display at the museum for a year before going back to the school. Sakkab added that they would welcome the opportunity to work with the museum again in the future.

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