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Arts & Communication Reconciled futures

2. A City of Reconciliation supported the city’s commitment to reconciliation but was
not sure where to start. At the same time, the MOV was
The City of Vancouver became a City of Reconciliation looking for funding to pilot a 1-week cultural program for
on July 8, 2014, with the adoption of a Reconciliation Indigenous Youth from the three host nations.
Framework by the city council. This framework
11
acknowledged Vancouver as home to the third largest The green infrastructure team had recently contributed
13
urban Indigenous population in Canada (at that time content about Vancouver’s Rain City Strategy to a natural
52,375 people) and sought to strengthen relationships by history exhibition at MOV titled Wild Things: The Power
implementing changes in all city departments. Initiatives of Nature in Our Lives. They were looking for ways to
were to involve projects that increased access to housing continue their work with the museum as part of a public
and employment, arts and culture, health and wellness, and outreach strategy designed to inform residents about how
those that supported youth. The city mandated that staff green infrastructure improves water quality and increases
in every department create opportunities for engagement biodiversity within the city. A demonstration project had
rd
with Indigenous community members and required them recently been completed at 63 Avenue and Yukon Street,
to routinely report back on their progress, but provided in Vancouver’s Marpole Community, that included the
little guidance on how to actually carry out this work. construction of a rain garden and bioswale. These were
designed to “collectively clean and manage 90% of average
Putting reconciliation into practice requires not only annual rainfall runoff from surrounding roads, resulting
an awareness of the traumatic legacies of colonialism but in improved water quality and reduced combined sewer
also an ability to acknowledge and repair social injustices overflows. These green rainwater infrastructure practices
by finding new ways of delivering services and programs to combine native and non-native plant species and provide
Indigenous community members, ones that seek to erase enhanced habitat for pollinators in addition to their
historical biases. The former requires an investment in rainwater management functions.” 14
education to create historical consciousness, whereas the
latter requires cultural sensitivity and experience doing Although construction of the green infrastructure
public engagement to be effective. was completed, there were still funds available for public
art to enhance the site. Melina Scholefield, Manager of
Urban Indigenous communities are far from Green Infrastructure Implementation (2016 – 2021),
homogenous, and this adds complexity to the work. The contacted MOV for ideas on how to use those funds for
City of Vancouver, for example, falls within the traditional a reconciliation initiative. Although previous collaborative
unceded lands of three host nations — MST but is also work had aligned with MOV’s commitment to environment
home to a diasporic urban Indigenous community and sustainability, she was aware of the role that the MST
composed of families and individuals from other parts of communities had taken in shaping the design of the Wild
the province and a multitude of Indigenous communities Things exhibition and their contributions to the stories
from across Canada. presented in the two galleries.
Some city departments, such as arts and culture, At the same time, MOV was specifically looking for
have staff that routinely work with Indigenous and other funding to undertake engagement with youth from the
diverse groups (LBGTQ2S+, neurodiverse and disabled, MST communities and drafted a proposal for a 1-week art
immigrant communities, etc.), but how do departments camp to accomplish this goal. As this camp had a deliverable
such as engineering incorporate reconciliation into their – designs that could be fabricated as sculptures by the
projects around the city? city’s metal shop, it was proposed that an Indigenous artist
3. Public art in the Rain City would lead this program. The youth would also learn about
museums and the basics of Northwest Coast design, with
“In the manner that we have been taught, we want a focus on Coast Salish design, through daily workshops
to share our stories, our culture, and our resources offered by host nation artists and visits with MOV staff.
and to restore harmony and balance with the It was proposed that the program would include eight
outside world. And we value education as a means youths – two from each host nation and two from non-
to a brighter future for our young people.” 12,p.15
specified Indigenous communities. Since there was a
In 2019, the MOV had an opportunity to partner with the deliverable of creating designs for public art, it was decided
City of Vancouver’s Green Infrastructure team by contracting that the students should be teens (12 – 16 years), not
to supply public art for one of their demonstration projects. children. The proposed budgets included funds for paying
The green infrastructure team, part of the city’s engineering the Indigenous artist instructor to prep for the camp, help
department, was seeking ways to undertake work that with recruitment, and supervise the students and their

Volume 2 Issue 3 (2024) 3 doi: 10.36922/ac.2488