Indigenous artists reimagine new statue at Manitoba Legislature in place of Queen Victoria

When Mtis artist Kenneth Lavalleeheard the statue of Queen Victoria had been toppled at Manitoba's legislative grounds,he looked down at his desk. On it sat a shell and sweetgrass a gift from his mother.

"The iridescent shell just kind of caught my eye. And I was like, 'This is beautiful.'"

Lavalleegot to work, designing a statue inspired by the act of smudging.

"You burn sweetgrass to cleanse your mind andspirit, the environment and space. I thought this place could use a good cleansing," he said, standing in front of the pedestal where the statue of Queen Victoria used to sit.

"I've been talking about the queen for a long time that particular sculpture, how out of place it seemed here. Front row, centre. Whydoes she get the best spot? She's never been here. She doesn't really represent anything of Manitoba or its people."

The statue, which sat on the front lawn of the Manitoba Legislature grounds, facing Broadway, was brought down on Canada Day by asmall group of participants inthe Every Child Matters walk held in honour of children forced to attend residential schools.

Red handprints were painted on the statue and its base, and its head was severed and thrown in the river, where it was later recovered.

A smaller statue of Queen Elizabeth on the provincial legislature groundswas also toppled. Both statues have since been moved.

Now,Lavalleeand other Indigenous artists arereimaginingwhat could sit in front of Manitoba's legislature building.

Mtis artist Val Vintsaid an idea came to her in a dream, as she was trying to work through the pain of hearing about the hundreds of unmarked graves found on the sites of Canada's former residential schools.

"Usually I'll put tobacco down and pray in times like that because you need something to get through. And all my best things come in my dreams," Vint said.

"I woke up in the morning and I could see what I wanted there. I can't really say everything about it, but I have a piece in my head developed for that legislative site that would represent all our peoples."

Vint, whose statueEducation is the New Bison was unveiled at The Forks in Winnipeg in May 2020, says she wants something in front of the legislature that sends a positive message.

The decision about what to do with the damaged Queen Victoria statue, and what to put in its place, should be made by Indigenous Manitobans, according to Omeasoo Wahpasiw, who studies how public spacesoften tell oneversion of Canadian history.

"It's up to the people of the territory what they feel is correct," saidWahpasiw,who is Cree and originally from Saskatchewan.

Wahpasiw,an assistant professor who teaches arts education and Indigenous historyat theUniversity of Prince Edward Island,says what is left of the statue now isart too. Keeping it on displaywould have not erased history, but instead enabled it to tell a story that hasn't been heard before,she said.

"It's meant to be a dramatic representation of the pain and suffering that our people have gone through. And Queen Victoria, as well as the current queen, really stand as symbols of that system that chose to do that to our relatives," she said.

"They might have been sitting in their palace eating crumpetsbut the things they represented, the people they kept on their payroll, and the policies they directed ... created violence."

The province has not said what it plans to do with the damaged Queen Victoria statue or what could go in its place. When asked on Monday, Justice Minister Cameron Friesen said it was too soon to make decisions on what should go there.

Manitoba's acting health minister, Kelvin Goertzen,posted a comment on Facebook Monday saying the Queen Victoriastatue would be restored.His spokesperson would not confirm whether that is in fact the case.

Indigenous artists reimagine new statue at Manitoba Legislature

3 years ago

Duration 2:37

Now that the statue of Queen Victoria is gone from the Manitoba Legislature, Indigenous artists are re-imagining what could go in its place.