Kwantlen First Nation artist Brandon Gabriel cuts the ribbon in front of his new mural at Don Christian Elementary on Monday with the help of some students. The mural depicts an eagle, a hummingbird and a wolf, symbolizing respect, resiliency and responsibility.
The outside of Don Christian Elementary is now a lot brighter, with the unveiling of a brand new mural by Kwantlen First Nation artist Brandon Gabriel.
Earlier today (Monday, Feb. 28), the school celebrated the addition of the vibrant mural, which features Indigenous depictions of an eagle, a hummingbird and a wolf to symbolize respect, resiliency and responsibility, respectively. The artwork references the Indigenous story of a hummingbird that put out a large fire by dousing it with water, drop by drop, inspiring other creatures to pitch in until the blaze was put out.
"For an artist, for your work to be honoured when something like this is unveiled and the ribbon is unfurled and scissors are brought out and you get to cut a ribbon, that's everything," said Gabriel. "That is one of the biggest honours an artist can have in their career. It's very moving, it's very touching, it's received well to me and my family. Thank you."
Principal John Morrison said the idea for the mural came a few years ago, when the previous mural on the side of the school was starting to deteriorate and needed updating to make it more relevant to the current curriculum.
"It was from the early '90s, and in my perspective, it didn't really speak to the world of education that we have today," he said. "In light of everything that was going with recent social justice movements, we wanted to have something that was a bit more current."
Aside from newer schools such as Katzie Elementary, Morrison noted he hadn't seen a lot of Indigenous artwork in Cloverdale and wanted to do something that would recognize the Indigenous history of the area, while also acknowledging Indigenous staff and students.
"I had heard about Brandon and seen some of his work on the other sites in the city and thought it'd be wonderful if he would do a mural for us," he said. "I contacted him and began that communication."
To get students involved, students were asked what the mural should be about, and they narrowed it down to three themes: responsibility, respect and resiliency. From there, Gabriel determined the story of the hummingbird embodied the themes and went to work painting the mural on five wooden panels over several weekends, sharing his process with students along the way.
"It's a story that the kids really grabbed onto," said Morrison. "On Mondays, the kids would come and Brandon would lead them through the process of the mural and his art and how he paints.
"At our school, we also have a really popular student recognition program called CATS that stands for Caring, Accountable, Trustworthy and Safe. We wanted the mural to represent that as well and we felt the three themes that we chose also fit with those qualities.
"It's turned out amazing and it's really helped bring our community together - we're a really tight community, and during these challenging times with the pandemic, it's special in a positive way," he said. "I think we've all learned a lot and I hope the children will remember the mural and it'll be a source of connection to their school and community."
