Just across the road from Georgetown District High School, Indigenous artist Dayle Hawkins has left her mark.
Titled United Spirits, the art on the utility box at the corner of Guelph and Albert streets is part of her larger series exploring reconciliation and Indigenous history. Hawkins deliberately presents a multi-layered message.
“In my mind, it wasn't just what had happened, but where we're going to go,” she said. “The generations that are coming up need that support. They need to know what choices we have and what created the past.”
For the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation artist, moving forward “means a lot about sharing the knowledge” and hopes that people can tackle prejudice.
“If we can deal with these things, then people will talk and connect more with other people and share that knowledge.”
Her use of a dream catcher in the middle draws the eye toward the work, but the mural is meant to be taken in as a whole with its gradient orange background.
Much like Orange Shirt Day (Sept. 30), the design is alluding to Canada’s past with residential schools, while the clasped hands represent the collaborative efforts between Indigenous communities, the public and the government.
Hawkins has relatives – a grandmother and her siblings – who were forced into the institutions. They and other victims she knew never talked about their experiences, making it all the more important to have artwork like United Spirits.
“One of the things that I find with the Indigenous is that they don't talk about it. It's either through embarrassment or it’s too emotional,” Hawkins said. "That's my idea for moving forward, now. If you get tied up emotionally in it, it would tear you apart and it's something you have to build on and go forward."
Her grandmother and great-aunt did eventually escape their residential school together.
The idea for the United Spirits series came to her from a messenger of sorts, Mississaugas of the Credit band Councillor Erma Ferrell. The pitch presented an interesting artistic challenge for Hawkins because it was not her style of work. She typically finds inspiration in floral landscapes.
However, when the first piece in the series was completed, she thought to herself, “I really like it.”
One of her pieces in the series adorned the side of a Toronto Transit Commission bus, much to her delight.
“When they told me it was on the bus, we chased it down [to take a photo]. The driver just turned the corner and I was taking the picture and he looked so happy,” she recalled.
More information on the Town of Halton Hills’ Under Wraps art program can be found on its website.
