A young Indigenous artist who painted a mural in Thompson’s City Centre Mall said that although the idea had been percolating in her mind since 2017, it underwent a transformation as she was painting it because she was going through a personal struggle.
Christine McKay, who is a member of Pimicikamak Cree Nation and grew up in Cross Lake while also spending a lot of time in Norway House, was selected by the owners of the mall and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak to paint the mural based on a submission she made.
Featuring an Indigenous woman surrounded and animals representing the seven sacred teachings, the main subject of the mural’s face is broken and also disconnected from the rest of her body, revealing a night scene with northern lights behind it.
“My original piece, it wasn’t broken like this,” McKay said in an interview after the mural was unveiled on Monday morning. “Her face was just disconnected but I went through something this past year that made me feel very disconnected, very not sure of myself and my culture. I wanted it a little more focused on reconnection because that is what my personal mission is right now just to be proud of whom I am. Making the mural was such a healing experience for me.”
The incident that caused her distress was being called a savage on Truth and Reconciliation Day by someone McKay told CBC was condescending about her reconnecting with her culture.
Satisfying as it was to be selected for an complete the acrylic paint mural, McKay said it was also nerve-racking because she was given such free rein by Strathallen and by mall administrator Arlene Katchmar.
“She said that I seemed pretty confident in everything that I was doing which was not true at all,” McKay recalls. “I was terrified and nervous to do anything the whole time. It’s so hard to go from a huge blank canvas, trying to scale up my drawing into that big huge piece. Trying to figure out how to fill that space was something I had challenges with.”
At the unveiling of the mural, which was then ceremonially smudged by elder Jack Robinson, whose birthday was acknowledged by Mayor Colleen Smook, Strathallen representatives presented McKay with $1,000 for her efforts, which was then matched by MKO in a surprise announcement.
The decision to commission and display the mural comes after Strathallen raised the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation flag on one of its flagpoles last year and installed a monument acknowledging that the property is within NCN’s traditional territory.
The artwork is part of mall owner Strathallen’s ongoing efforts to pay tribute to the Indigenous Peoples on whose traditional territory it lies and to recognize that its existence is highly dependent on the relationship the company maintains with Northern Manitoba First Nation residents who rely on Thompson as a shopping and service hub.
“It’s our communities that help keep this mall alive,” said MKO executive director Kelvin Lynxleg.
NCN Chief Angela Levasseur said that the disconnection McKay depicted is something that many Indigenous people have felt.
“I believe that your beautiful mural will touch people’s hearts and will help them to find that reconnection, that longing that they’re feeling for home and the land,” she said.
McKay completed the mural while also pursuing post-secondary studies to become a teacher, noted Strathallen’s national marketing manager Jesse Manastyrski.
“She found time between classes and tests to take the time to complete it,” he said. “I think that speaks to not only the talent that she has, but also the work ethic.”
Strahallen has put up similar murals in other malls it owns, including one in Prince Albert, Sask., said their vice-president of asset management Sean Pharasi, one of the people who pulled the covering off Mckay’s artwork to officially reveal it.
Following the flag raising, the company raised the idea of a mural with MKO.
“They liked the mural and we were fortunate to find Christine,” he said. “We knew that we wanted something that was inspirational, something that connected to the community. Honestly, it turned out even better than what I was expecting.”
Pride will be the dominant emotion for McKay when she sees her mural while visiting the mall.
“I never though that I would do something like this,” she said. “I never thought that I would put myself out there like that because I’m just generally not that type of person.”
