Beyond Oqwa’titek Mural

About

This Public Mural created by Mi’kmaw artist Lorne Julien features indigenous symbolism. The eagle symbolizes love and is one of the “Seven Sacred Teachings”. Eagle is also a protector and the one who takes prayers to the heavens. The number 215+ in the orange circle that appears on the far right of the mural represents all victims and survivors of residential schools and the need to remember their experiences so that true reconciliation can happen.

To that end, Julien has included a pair of tiny moccasins in his mural, tying everything together and making the place feel safe, colourful and, above all, hopeful.

Moving from a painful past to a place of understanding and friendship, the mural embraces diversity of culture and race in a beautiful part of Mi’kma’ki where Mi’kmaw chief Membertou may have first connected with Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons, founder of the first permanent French settlement in what is now Canada. The name of the amphitheatre – Oqwa’titek – was chosen by the people of Bear River First Nation. Fittingly, it translates to ‘when they arrived’.