Audrey Armstrong, Tatawow-You Are Welcome Here.

When you enter the YXE Urban Games, you'll be greeted by an art installation by Audrey Armstrong: This painting not only welcomes, but also shows the interconnectedness of us as Indigenous people who have lived on the land since time immemorial. It depicts the hardships, but also the connection that we continue to have to the land, not only in Treaty 6 Territory but worldwide. There are 4 tipis in the painting and 4 flowers in each corner that represent the teachings that I have, of the 4 directions. It represents balance in our lives and how, when things are balanced, then we can be prosperous in life and health. The tipis represent our community here in Saskatoon on Treaty 6 Territory and Homeland of the Metis. The fireballs represent the power that we, as a community have, to be able to overcome barriers and hurdles to be able to work together and have a balanced and thriving community where we all come together.

The painting also depicts the acknowledgement of the Indian Residential Schools and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People. The berries are orange and represent the fact that we are still living this truth and are still working to overcome the challenges and intergenerational traumas that we carry as Indigenous people. The orange is woven throughout the painting, as it is in real life, we live with the effects of these schools every day of our lives. We have our Kohkoms, Moshoms, parents, aunties, uncles and some of us younger generations that are still walking this earth, who have survived those schools and they are all reminders to us that we can overcome and thrive. And we have to keep sharing and teaching to our non-Indigenous brothers and sisters.

The red represents the ongoing battle that we are having as our people continue to go missing or are murdered. I put the red in the center of the painting, which is also the center of the community, because this is something that we need to work on to keep our communities safe. This is a human battle and it needs to be talked about and fought together. The vines and connections of the flowers, the leaves, the berries and everything in the painting shows that we are all connected in every way to each other. As humans, we depend on mother earth for sustenance. Without the land and the sustenance she provides to all living beings, we would not be here. The importance of the land is immense and it is up to us to make sure that mother earth is cared for. We are all stewards of the land and we must work together to keep the balance that is needed.