Some exciting news to share! Recently, the Gitche Namewikwedong Reconciliation Garden Project announced that Manitoulin Island artist and fabricator – Kathryn Corbiere has been selected to create the grandmother sturgeon sculpture at the Reconciliation Garden located in Kelso Beach Park in Owen Sound.

Kathryn, an Anishinaabe-kwe artist from M’Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island, will create the sculpture of Nookomis Gitche Name’ Kwe, whose “sacred and iconic presence at the garden will serve as the physical, spiritual and cultural link to the traditional lands and waters of the Anishinaabeg,” says a news release from the garden committee.

An official dedication ceremony for the garden, located on the traditional territory of the Saugeen Ojibwa Nation, very close to the site of the original Nawash Village, took place on July 1, 2017.

Work on Phase 1 of the project began in June 2019.

The garden will be a contemplative space that will recognize and educate visitors about and celebrate local Indigenous history and culture. When finished, there will be interpretive plaques on the legacy of Canada’s residential school system, the ’60s Scoop and intergenerational trauma that continues to exist today as well as information on the history, culture and teachings of local Aboriginal people.

If you would like to support the development of this beautiful and meaningful project, please visit: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/31161