A “Pontiac Anishinaabe Healing Garden” project will be launched in Mansfield

A “Pontiac Anishinaabe Healing Garden” project will be launched in Mansfield

A project entitled “Pontiac Anishinaabe Healing Garden” will be built in Mansfield-et-Pontefract (near chemin de la Chute and rue Lévesque). This project should be unveiled in June 2021, according to the organization that initiated the project, namely the Indigenous Community of Pontiac.

The organizers plan to install a pergola, as well as a path containing a variety of plant and tree species. The focus will be on a mosaic of art and sculptures to commemorate the legacy of the survivors of the residential school system. Artist Roberta Della-Pica is eager to oversee the artistic licensing and outreach activity associated with the garden. She was commissioned to create an artistic piece 1.5 meters in diameter, which was guided by input from survivors while giving the garden a name. The Pontiac Indigenous Community will put up 3 sculptures consisting of a bear, an eagle and a turtle.

“This is a project will be available and accessible to everyone and we mean everyone. It doesn’t matter which corner of the world you come from, everyone is welcome to come and meditate, think and heal or just come and enjoy the garden, says the spokesperson for the Pontiac Indigenous Community, Richer Lévesque.

The Pontiac Indigenous Community says it received a grant of $ 38,500 from the federal government, which was granted for the construction of the project. The spokesperson for the organization, Richer Lévesque, thanked Mayor Gilles Dionne and the members of Mansfield-et-Pontefract municipal council for their support for the project. The Pontiac Indigenous Community hopes to unveil the project on National Aboriginal Peoples Day on June 21, 2021. The interview with Richer Lévesque is available here.