Ryan Jason Allen Willert stands in front of half the mural he painted at École Camille J. Lerouge School in Red Deer. (Supplied)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

reconciliation

New Métis mural unveiled at Red Deer school

Sep 12, 2020 | 2:51 PM

The artist behind a new mural inside the entrance at École Camille J. Lerouge School hopes his creation will give passers-by a moment of pause.

Ryan Jason Allen Willert was recently commissioned for the work after having painted two previous murals inside Red Deer Catholic Regional schools.

Willert is heavily involved in ceremony, he shares, and hopes the painting will help people understand a way of life from days gone by.

“I 100 per cent believe that by just looking at it, it’s good medicine,” he says. “You don’t even have to know what it means, but looking at it plants a seed into the brain, and encourages people and their spirits to appreciate the tribal life that everyone once lived.”

Camille being a French Immersion school, Willert says that played into his decision to have the mural incorporate the Métis.

COUNSEL: "THIS IS ANOTHER CANCEL CULTURE

Judicial Review of ousted ex-Red Deer school trustee begins in Court of King's Bench

4h ago

Fire Permitting System Reopened

Lacombe County lifts fire restriction

6h ago

may 4 at bower place

United Way Central Alberta collecting donations for Menstrual Health Day

7h ago

(Supplied)

“The Métis were half white and half native, so they lived off the land like Indigenous people, but prayed like the white people,” Willert explains. “The fleur de lis is just a French symbol I thought would look nice, but then there’s a Métis female child and an eagle. The child represents all the children in the school, and the eagle represents the strength of the teachers and faculty.”

There’s also the Catholic cross, he notes.

“We were strategic in placing it at the front vestibule area because we knew it’d be focal point for anyone going in or out, so it can start a conversation,” says Sinead Armstrong, principal at Camille. “That conversation can serve as a reminder and raise awareness about how we can continue to foster reconciliation and honour Indigenous culture.”

Armstrong says Camille will welcome Willert back to the school once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted so that there can be a proper blessing, and so he can spend time with students and staff to share some of his personal teachings, as he’s done at previous schools.

“This mural hopefully opens a door and spurs understanding of where we’ve been and where we aspire to be,” she adds.