Indigenous-themed art piece on display at mall

By Alexandra Noad - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on December 21, 2024.

Submitted photo - Chloe Boutland a student of Father Leonard Van Tighem School stands in front of the Courage to Soar at Park Place Mall's food court.

A new artwork created by Father Leonard Van Tighem School students from pre-K to Grade 9 was unveiled in the food court of Park Place Mall this month.

Courage to Soar is a mosaic of a hawk which integrates virtues of the school: honesty, acceptance, wisdom, kindness and spirituality. It also highlights Indigenous teachings of the Medicine Wheel, which school officials felt aligned with each other seamlessly.

Kyra Peake, one of the leaders of the Courage to Soar project, says the school wanted to give students an understanding of the symbolism of the medicine wheel.

“We wanted to make sure students understood the symbolism and teachings of the colours of the Medicine Wheel, and how it represents unity of the life cycles and the nature of interconnectedness of all people.”

Each class was given one of the school’s values to write on the feather and were assigned a colour of the Medicine Wheel which include red, white, black and yellow.

From there the students were able to use their creativity to draw pictures or words on their particular feather, which represents either the word of the value or the colour of the Medicine Wheel.

Peake says the students were excited to see the art piece in person and try to find the feather they created within the hawk’s coat.

“It was really nice to see our whole school come together with such a wonderful project.”

Emily Boutland, another lead on the project, says the school wants Courage To Soar to be interactive. She encourages the public to take a picture of themselves in front of the artwork with their arms spread like a hawk, and to reflect on what it means be a part of an inclusive environment.

“We want people to go up and interact with it and go up and spread their arms like a hawk,” says Boutland. “Stand tall and have the courage to soar.”

The artwork will be on display at the mall until next December.