This past month I visited one of my favourite Toronto neighbourhoods, Roncevalles, and encountered this stunning mural painted by Indigenous artist Philip Cote, Nelly Torossian and Jim Bravo in 2018. I immediately wondered how it came to be and learned that the mural represents the Anishinaabe tale of creation as told by Indigenous artist, academic and lead painter, Philip Cote. Cote shares that as the mural flows from left to right, there are different animals depicted such as the wolf (brother of man), bear (teacher and healer), and thunderbirds (protection), representing this story. Bravo added the lettering and included parts of the natural world celebrated in this area.
Cote, who has painted many murals across the city of Toronto, was approached by the Manager of the Roncevalles BIA, Veronica Feihl, to share this visual story:
Cote sees this work as an important vehicle to share stories that bring a positive change at a time when it is most needed:
I’m glad I got the chance to learn more about this mural and why it came to be. In fact, it has changed the trajectory of a series of Toronto neighbourhood stories I planned to share here over the coming months. Now that winter seems to be settling in, my weekly photo adventures will take on a more local flavour and the first in the series is Roncevalles. My plan was to share a bit of the history of the neighbourhood, some photos taken along the way and a walking map of places visited. I still plan to do this but my understanding of the history of this place I call home shifted recently.
I was fortunate to participate in a KAIROS Blanket Exercise at work last week. The KAIROS Blanket Exercise is an interactive program that covers more than 500 years of Canadian-Indigenous history in a 90-minute activity, highlighting in a very powerful way elements of our shared history that have not been taught in the past. Participants stand on blankets that represent pre-contact land as trained facilitators share the often unbearably sad story of how this land and the Indigenous way of life has disappeared across centuries and decades of colonization in Canada. This exercise brought to life for me the important understanding that we are just visitors here and that we have a very long way to go on this path to reconciliation. If you want to learn more about the Kairos Blanket Exercise, I would urge you to visit their website here.
With this deeper understanding of land and place, I wandered the Roncevalles neighbourhood looking to take in the natural beauty that resides here still. The lovely mural, the tree-lined streets, the many flower shops and vegetable stands, and of course, enchanting High Park. I hadn’t visited High Park in years but my return to this place brought a sense of peace within this hectic city I hadn’t experienced since my time hiking the rainforest trails in beautiful British Columbia.
On this day I was met by dear friends Christine and Marni who guided us through the winding trails of the park, taking in the fall colours and fresh autumn air.
The bright autumn hues were in full effect as we traipsed through the park, leaves crunching beneath our feet. The sense that we were walking on treasured ground was palpable.
May we always think about those who are stewards of this land we are so lucky to wander across and remember that we are just visitors here. May we also join in this stewardship so our children will know the beauty of the earth we live and grow on.
I will leave you with a collection of images of Roncevalles and High Park I transformed on my iPhone with the app Waterlogue as the beauty of this neighbourhood reminds me of a glorious painting. I hope you get a chance to visit!
