TRC Calls to Action Bus Shelter Art

To coincide with Sisters in Spirit Day, the fifth bus shelter is being unveiled on October 4, 2023. Sisters in Spirit Day is marked annually on October 4 to raise awareness about the high rates of violence against Indigenous women and girls in Canada. Vigils and other events are held across Canada to document the lived experience of Indigenous women and highlight the underlying causes of this violence. 

Saskatoon Transit, in collaboration with family and community members affected by the tragedy of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and Two Spirit persons (MMIWG2S), partnered with the talented Indigenous artist Vanessa Hyggen to craft a powerful work of art. Vanessa skillfully incorporated the collective thoughts and sentiments of the advisory group, aiming to pay tribute to and raise awareness of the issues faced by IWG2S persons, foster a space for healing, and serve as a call for community members to break the silence. 

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.