Shared Spaces hosted a digital sculpture titled, ᑲᓇᐁᐧᔨᒧᐁᐧᐃᐧᐣ (kanaweyimowewin), created by Star Andreas and Rene Dufour-Contreras in partnership with Common Weal Community Arts at the 2022 Frost Regina festival. This project is a part of Common Weal's community consultation about the use of digital artworks to decolonize our public spaces. ᑲᓇᐁᐧᔨᒧᐁᐧᐃᐧᐣ (kanaweyimowewin) can be found on the Shared Spaces app under the Regina Frost Festival 2022 Space.

ᑲᓇᐁᐧᔨᒧᐁᐧᐃᐧᐣ (kanaweyimowewin)

There exists a medicine wheel unknowingly built into the concrete walkways of Regina’s Victoria Park near the former site of the John A Macdonald statue. A sculpture is shown featuring 8 feathers honouring the 8 Cree warriors who Macdonald ordered hanged and who the Indigenous students from the Battleford Industrial School were forced to watch. Four children represent the four directions of the medicine wheel and a kukum wraps her arms around them showing us a commitment to the protection and nurturing of all children.

About the Artists

Star Andreas

My Spirit name is Evening Star. I'm a Cree Woman Warrior. I live on Treaty 4 Territory from Peepeekisis First Nations. I'm an Activist in My Community in Regina. I have Walked across Sask for Our Missing & Murdered Persons. I have done numerous Vigils, Walks and Protests for The People. I also Feed The People in My Community on Saturdays for free from My Home. The protest on bringing The John statue down was For My Ancestors after what he did to My People. It was a 2 month protest But WE DID IT!!!!!!!. I also Protested against the father hugonard statue in Lebret. I set up camp there untill they agreed to remove it. It only took 4 days but WE DID IT!!!!! Why do I do this???? Is because I want The Children to have a chance in this World to Live and Survive...without the fear of being Murdered. I have also created The 1st Flash-Mob Round Dance for Idle No-More....Victoria Park should be Beautiful for All of Us to Enjoy. Not having that Bad Man there is a start. But there is more to be done there will be working on it this Spring.

Rene Dufour-Contreras

Rene (he/him) is a mestizo programmer and digital artist with experience in game development and the wider tech industry since 2009. He enjoys sharing digital creativity and has taught digital literacy and digital art skills at the Mackenzie Art Gallery, Neil Balkwill Civic Arts Centre, SIAST, and the North Central Hacker Dojo. Currently Rene works at Melcher Studios developing interactive experiences with an emphasis in AR and VR development and designing and fabricating real world peripherals to interact with the digital world to further mix reality.

Rene loves to create visual art by blending traditional methods with digital and emerging technology. He uses the mediums to explore how people and society change due to changes in technology and what that means to our essence as human beings.