Limestone - River Alternative Secondary School Program
The Indigenous Arts Collective, with Cree artist Jaylene Cardinal , was fortunate enough to facilitate a paddle board painting workshop with Indigenous students at Limestone School Board’s River Alternative Secondary School Program. The students were introduced to Water education through a water teaching by Mohawk educator, Deb St. Amant, as well as our Ohné:ka Healing Project’s curriculum. They then worked with Indigenous artist, Jaylene Cardinal, to design and paint a 10’ paddle board. Alongside this, the students thought about the Water’s health and painted words and messages of healing, hope, love, and encouragement to the Water on the bottom of the paddle board. This paddle board will later be taken out on local bodies of Water with an Indigenous paddle board guide. When the paddle board’s bottom is placed on the Water’s surface, the student’s painting along with their words and messages will be “given” to the Water.
Gananoque Highschool’s Indigenous Leadership Program
The Indigenous Arts Collective had a great week working with Indigenous youth at Gananoque Highschool’s Indigenous Leadership program with IAC artist Melissa Brant. We continued our Ohné:ka Healing Project’s mission of educating the next generation of their inherited surroundings and our Water’s health through environmental education and art. Earlier this month we brought this group to the Gananoque River for Water testing and on-the-Water activities. Now we had the chance to continue this education through art expression! The youth engaged in designing, painting and writing messages of reflection, appreciation and love to our Water on the bottom of stand up paddle boards.
Kingston Native Centre and Language Nest
The Kingston Native Centre and Language Nest granted the Indigenous Arts Collective and artist Jaylene Cardinal the opportunity to facilitate environmental education and paddle board painting -this time outdoors! It was the perfect opportunity to paint in an outdoor, natural environment, and it was a great reminder of all Water provides for our Earth (the grass, the trees, the plants, the animals..). The youth helped design and paint the paddle board, along with adding their messages to the Water. We can’t wait to take these students and this board out on the Water this summer!
Kingston Pumphouse Museum
The Indigenous Arts Collective led another successful paddle board mural at the Pumphouse Museum in Kingston. Facilitated by member and Mohawk artist, Melissa Brant, this vibrant youth-led paddle board mural was created with the Kingston Water Warriors group, alongside other local youth and their families. This new finished board will be exhibited at the Pumphouse Museum alongside our eight other community and artist created boards. Our boards will be exhibited for a limited time only (starting August 19th, 2025), if you have any interest in seeing these amazing murals in-person, please check out the Pumphouse Museum!
More Paddle Board Murals...
Check out our other community paddle board murals from the June 21st National Indigenous People's Day Event in Kingston, the Akwesasne Art Market, and the September 30th – National Day of Truth and Reconciliation – Ohneka Healing Project.
