Warman High School (WHS) students are taking their commitment to Indigenous Truth and Reconciliation efforts to the streets.
An outdoor mural depicting the theme of reconciliation, designed and painted by WHS students under the direction of WHS art teacher Sarah Gerrard and artist-in-residence Ray Keighley, will soon be attached to the north wall of the city-owned former library building at 101 Klassen Street West.
Warman City Council gave approval at a meeting on Monday, January 25 to a request from WHS to hang the mural on the wall of the building, which currently houses the Route 11 Arts Studio and the offices of the Prairie Sky Chamber of Commerce.
A mural by WHS students done a few years ago depicting Warman’s history is currently attached to the building’s east wall facing 6th Avenue South. A request for permission for the Truth and Reconciliation mural was submitted by WHS in the fall of 2019, prior to its creation.
On January 12, city administration was advised by Gerrard that the students have now prepared a concept drawing of the proposed Truth and Reconciliation mural, and were now ready to move forward with the project.
Council discussed the placement of the mural at a committee of the whole meeting on January 18. A consensus was reached at that meeting to allow its placement on the building and a formal motion to that effect was adopted at the council meeting January 25.
The mural will be placed on a support grid using 1”x4” treated wood mounted to the stucco with deck screws.
The City of Warman is one of 22 signatories to the Prairie Rivers Reconciliation Declaration, inked in February 2020 at a ceremony presided over by Lieutenant Governor Russ Mirasty at the One Arrow First Nation.
Warman is a member of the Prairie Rivers Reconciliation Committee (PRRC), “a partnership of diverse people, organizations and communities from different cultures committed to creating inclusivity by building strong relationships through education and by relearning our shared historical truth.”
The Prairie Rivers Reconciliation Committee developed in response to the reconciliation movement in Saskatchewan, and is one of 10 reconciliation committees that have formed across the province: Saskatoon, Regina, Lloydminster and Onion Lake First Nation, Prince Albert, North Battleford, Yellow Quill First Nation and Kelvington, Nipawin, Yorkton and Swift Current. With the support of Rhett Sangster, Reconciliation Committee Coordinator for the Office of the Treaty Commissioner, many communities are identifying priority areas, developing projects to enhance reconciliation efforts in their communities and signing declarations to work together towards their goals.
The other members of the PRRC include: the City of Martensville, Rural Municipality of Corman Park, Town of Aberdeen – Community Association, Town of Osler, Town of Rosthern, Prairie Sky Chamber of Commerce, Prairie Spirit School Division, Great Plains College,Affinity CU, CO-OP CRS, Carlton Trail College, Dakota Dunes Casino, Mennonite Central Committee Saskatchewan, Office of the Treaty Commissioner, One Arrow First Nation Urban Members, Prairie Central District for Sport Culture and Recreation, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Saskatchewan Health Authority, SREDA – Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority, Station Arts Centre Co-Operative, and Misty Ventures.