Rekindle is the new wrap unveiled by Mayor John Tory on September 28 recognizing UNESCO's International Decade of Indigenous Languages. The Mayor was joined by artist Joseph Sagaj, who designed the wrap, along with Elder Dorothy Peters and singer Zeegwon Shilling at Nathan Phillips Square.
Mayor John Tory passes the Toronto Sign
From the City's media release, "Sagaj’s design, Rekindle, was selected by a community jury in May. Rekindle offers a glimpse into how languages are vital to identity, voice and expression. Sagaj is Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) of the Sturgeon Clan and is from the remote community of Neskantaga in Northern Ontario. Throughout his career, Sagaj has felt honoured to share his Anishinaabe ancestry and heritage through art, featuring Indigenous knowledge, culture and teachings on numerous private and public commissions designing logos, murals, illustrations and painting projects for various organizations and different governments. Rekindle will remain on the Toronto Sign until the fall of 2023."
The City of Toronto will host the Indigenous Legacy Gathering at Nathan Phillips Square from September 29-30, 2022 where the City and the Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre will honour the residential school survivors. Indigenous cultures, traditions and languages will be celebrated through education, media and entertainment. On the day before the gathering begins work crews were busy raising tipis in the square.
Also underway at the east side of Nathan Phillips Square is the construction of the Spirit Garden due to be completed in 2023 which will honour the residential school survivors with a permanent structure.
Mayor John Tory said “The Indigenous Legacy Gathering celebrates and honours the resilience of residential school survivors and their families and is an important form of reconciliation. The City is proud to collaborate with Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre on this vital event at Nathan Phillips Square. I invite Torontonians to visit Nathan Phillips Square to honour survivors and their families, while exploring, learning about and participating in Indigenous activities.”
Andrea Chrisjohn, Board Designate, Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre stated that “Council Fire is proud to host this year’s Indigenous Legacy Gathering once again, following a 20-month lockdown and recent discoveries of those unmarked gravesites. This gathering will serve as an opportunity to bring our families, friends, and supporters together in a setting that celebrates the resilience of residential school survivors who continue to embrace their national identities through their voice, language and practices, denied to them in these institutions.”
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