In honor of National Truth and Reconciliation Day, a brand new “garden” filled with Indigenous art is opening in Toronto this weekend.
Already one of the city's most popular venues for festivals and gatherings – including the Indigenous Legacy Gathering, which runs September 27-30 – Nathan Phillips Square is about to get even better with the grand opening of the new Spirit Garden.
The Spirit Garden, located in the southwest quadrant of the square, features five different installations by artists from various First Nations and focuses on honoring residential school survivors, children lost to the system and Indigenous culture.
The centerpiece of the garden, which the City of Toronto describes as a “teaching, learning, exchange and healing space,” is a stunning two-meter-tall turtle sculpture by Anishinaabe artist Solomon King. The sculpture depicts a series of First Nation creation stories surrounding Turtle Island.
Around the sculpture you can also see a teaching hut, a planted garden depicting the integral symbiotic relationship between the “Three Sisters” (beans, corn and pumpkin), a 36-foot long voyageur canoe and a granite inukshuk sculpture.
To conclude the four-day Indigenous Legacy Gathering, there will be a grand opening ceremony for the Spirit Garden on Monday, September 30 at 8:30 a.m., with the garden officially opening to the public at 2 p.m
National Truth and Reconciliation Day will be celebrated across Canada this year on Monday, September 30th.