From left, Corrine Daelick MAS VP, Michelle Taylor PAHS, Wendy Fitch MAS Exec. Dir.
Indigenous culture and history

Historical museum recognized for Indigenous space

Jun 2, 2019 | 12:00 PM

The Prince Albert Historical Society (PAHS) has received recognition for its work, which highlights their special Indigenous space on site.

The organization was presented the Award of Merit for projects with a budget under $50,000 by the Museums Association of Saskatchewan (MAS).

Michelle Taylor, manager and curator at the historical museum, said they received the award for the mural project which the museum completed this past winter.

“[We] created Indigenous murals, with the help of Leah Dorion and Kevin Pee-Ace, to incorporate Indigenous art into a newly developed Indigenous space,” she explained.

According to Taylor, the Indigenous walls go through each of the five tribal groups (Swampy Cree, Plains Cree, Woodland Cree, Dene and Dakota), as well as pre-contact, then there’s a small Metis corner with two large paintings depicting land and river use.

“When you walk into the room you see a 19-foot long mural of transition from First Nations to very early P.A.,” Taylor said.

She added it was a great honour to receive the award because it is adjudicated by their museum peers.

“It’s a group that’s on the Museums Association board that picks the winners and it’s just an honour that they saw the value of what the museum is doing in Prince Albert,” she continued.

The historical museum is one of the first smaller museums to take on a project like this, according to Taylor.

She’s said it’s been a bit of a learning curve for the historical museum but now with the mural in place they’re hoping to be able to help other museums do something similar.

The mural is located in the Connaught Room at the museum accompanied by several artifacts on display. This will be a permanent exhibit.

The museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Aug 30.

With files from Glenn Hicks

Sarah.wallace@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @sarahthesquid

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