Winnipeg artist's Mtis beadwork highlights new collectible silver coin from Royal Canadian Mint - Action News
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Manitoba

Winnipeg artist's Mtis beadwork highlights new collectible silver coin from Royal Canadian Mint

The Royal Canadian Mint in Winnipeg unveiled a new collectible coin on Tuesday celebrating the history of the Red RiverMtisfeaturing a work from a celebrated local artist.

Jennine Krauchi's design symbolizes survival of Mtis nation, connection with the land

A woman in a beaded jacket stands next to a large silver coin that has a beadwork design on it. The coin says
Jennine Krauchi, a world-renowned Mtis artist, produced the art for the new silver collector coin unveiled by the Royal Canadian Mint on Tuesday. It features Mtis beadwork and Michif, the official language of the Mtis Nation, to celebrate the culture and history of the community. (Mario de Ciccio/SRC)

The Royal Canadian Mint in Winnipeg unveiled a new collectible coin on Tuesday celebrating the history of the Red RiverMtisfeaturing art from a celebrated local artist.

The silver coin, designed by Jennine Krauchi, features traditionalMtisbeadworkand Michif, the official language of theMtisNation.

"This is the story of us as Mtisand the struggles that we went throughand, actually, the happy times, too," Krauchi said Tuesday asthe coin was unveiled.

Her design features an infinity symbol representing the immortality of the nation, flames that denote the hardships the people have faced, a rose representingthe survival of the Mtis, androots that go into the Red River.

"Believe in yourself. Believe inMtis"is written in Michifon the coin.

A round beaded art piece says
Mtis history and culture are celebrated in the latest silver collector coin unveiled by the Royal Canadian Mint. The original art, which is fabric and beading, was created by Jennine Krauchi, a world-famous Mtis artist. (Mario de Ciccio/SRC)

Krauchisaid that during her creative processshe thought about her people, but especially the women who came before her "and brought this beautiful art form that we can now call an art form," she said."At one point it was called a craft."

Alex Reeves, thesenior manager of the Royal Canadian Mint, says this coin is one in a series of collectibles that feature Indigenous art that celebrate"passing on traditional knowledge from one generation to the next to preserve overall Indigenous culture and heritage through art andthrough the spoken word."

Stakeholders from Inuit, Mtisand First Nations communities have been consulted in each case about how to illustrate their story and how it will be shared with the rest of Canada, Reeves says.

"They picked the artistsas opposed to us traditionally doing that they found artists, they solicited concepts, and we worked with them hand-in-hand to pick what looked best on a coin," he said.

"We're very delighted to see Jennine Krauchi produce an amazing beadwork design that looks absolutely fantastic on a on a coin."

The limited editionRed RiverMtis coin there are only 5,000 is 99.99 per cent pure silver and retails for $100.

With files from Alexia Bille