The 2017 “Treaty 4: The Next Generation Project” art piece has found a permanent home at Martin Collegiate. Thank you to Principal Lisa Allen for making this possible. Student involvement in this project began on April 13, 2017 when approximately 130 students from Balfour, Campbell, F.W. Johnson, Martin, Scott and Sheldon-Williams participated in a youth conference at Division Office. Teachers involved included Tracey Ellis, Liz Therrien, Monique Bowes, Naomi Fortier-Fréçon, Heather Findlay, Janine Taylor, Tana Mitchell, Jessica Moser, Jenn Coleman and Jori Cachene.
At the conference, students and teachers were challenged to consider why reconciliation matters to us all. This creative venture was inspired by art teacher Jori Cachene, who, with the help of Ian Temple, organized and cut the template for the individual wood pieces. Students who attended the conference were each given a piece of the starblanket once they returned to their respective schools. As they reflected on their emerging understandings in class, they created individual designs to contribute to this starblanket-inspired collaborative piece. When complete, the pieces were returned to Jori at Scott Collegiate, where she assembled the final art piece that is now displayed at Martin Collegiate.
This project’s mandate was for high school students and teachers to work together across the division to develop understandings of what it means to be authentic treaty citizens. This piece, and the learnings that inspired it, will serve as a promise of our shared commitment to reconciliation.
