Newly unveiled airport sign showcases ‘truth of the land’

Winnipeg’s airport unveiled a new acknowledgment sign Tuesday, designed to greet travellers and remind them they are entering the home of the Treaty One nations.

The sign, emblazoned with a turtle and wildflower motif designed by a local Indigenous artist, is now a permanent fixture inside Winnipeg Richardson International Airport — towering over the main atrium and catching the eyes of travellers as they descend the stairs to the baggage claim area.

“Airports, fundamentally, are places of connection — across distance, across cultures, across experiences. It’s important that this space reflects the truth of the land on which it stands,” Nick Hays, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Airports Authority, said.

“This is one step. An important one, but just one step. It reflects work that, for our part, should have been done much earlier. And it reflects work that must continue.”

Hayes joined a crowd of Indigenous leaders and others who gathered in the morning to see the sign for the first time. The airport also held a flag raising ceremony to hoist the banner of the Treaty One nations next to the flags of Canada, Manitoba and Winnipeg outside of the airport.

Treaty One represents the seven First Nations that were signatories to the first of Canada’s numbered treaties. They include the Brokenhead Ojibway, Peguis, Roseau River Anishinaabe, Sagkeeng, Sandy Bay, Swan Lake and Long Plain First Nations.

Hays said the flag and the sign are ways to pay tribute to Manitoba’s history, and to send a message of reconciliation and inclusion to everybody passing through the airport.

“In general, it’s just acknowledgment that these are Treaty One lands and that our people are very much still here and very much still active” Brokenhead First Nation Chief Gordon Bluesky said.

“I hope that it shows the resilience of our people and the pride that we still carry.”

Bluesky said he has seen similar signage installed at airports elsewhere in Canada, and envied the recognition and respect paid to those First Nations. He pushed the Winnipeg Airports Authority to recognize Treaty One communities the same way.

Grace Swain, a band member from Swan Lake, created the artwork that adorns the sign.

Her design features seven stars, a shining sun, flowing water, the silhouettes of ceremonial dancers, moccasin footprints and bison tracks encompassed in the body of a green turtle and surrounded by flowers.

She hopes travellers will take the time to admire the artwork and ask questions about the various symbols it incorporates and their significance to Indigenous people, she said.

“I hope it touches peoples hearts and they… understand how important it is when you’re in another community to be respectful of that and to honour that, and just to know the traditions,” she said.

“I think it’s so amazing now that we’re getting this acknowledgment and people are recognizing that you’re on First Nations land.”

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca