Nokomis Teachings from the Grandmothers of Georgina Island First Nation (2024) by Nish @readysetskoden
📍 79 Roncesvalles Avenue
Representing the Seven Nokomis Teachings that were created in collaboration with a handful of Grandmothers from the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation (GIFN). Deanna BigCanoe, a member of the GIFN community, collected terms and meanings in December of 2023 and put them on a poster that now hangs in the GIFN’s new Biindigen Wellness Centre.
With her permission, Artist Nish brought these teachings to Roncesvalles Village, sharing pieces of the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation community with the vibrant and flourishing Toronto neighbourhood.
Every Child Matters (2024) by Nish @readysetskoden
📍 71 Roncesvalles Avenue
This piece is a tribute to a little boy named Joseph Commanda (one of 19 siblings who attended the Mohawk Institute, a Residential School located in Branford, Ontario). Joseph (age 13) and his brother Rocky (age 11) ran away from the Mohawk Institute in 1968. Both were apprehended by the Ontario Provincial Police in Oakville. While Rocky was put into the back of the cruiser, Joseph escaped and ran east along the train tracks. Six hours later, he made it as far as the old Sunnyside train station where he was fatally hit by a train (nearby today’s Queen and Roncesvalles area).
I worked with STEPS and the Roncesvalles BIA to seek permission and create a tribute to Joseph and Rocky’s journey. On the main face of the mural, you can see the train tracks and Joseph’s footsteps along one side of the tracks. On the other side of the tracks are a trail of rocks to symbolize Rocky’s journey and attempt to fleeing the residential school. You can also see the tree line, water shoreline, and Lake Ontario that run parallel to the tracks.
I included the Every Child Matters statement, which is used across Turtle Island by First Peoples as a statement that draws attention to the legacy of Residential Schools. It represents the children who suffered great abuses and lost their lives during or after as a result from attending the provincially, federally, Catholic, United, and Anglican run boarding schools which many describe as “prisons”. Thousands of Indigenous children died in these schools (the only schools in Canadian history that have graveyards connected to the schools). The last residential school closed in 1996. Former students of the residential schools, survivors, and their families share their stories so that history does not repeat itself.
Miigwech/thank you to STEPS and the Roncesvalles BIA for the opportunity to create this piece in memory of Joseph Commanda. Chi Miigwech to Joseph’s family for allowing me to paint this.
These murals were supported by the Roncesvalles Village BIA Social Justice and Anti-Racism Committee. Project funded by the Roncesvalles Village BIA and facilitated by I HeART Main Street which is presented in partnership with STEPS and RBC, and generously supported by Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and the Government of Ontario.
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