Commemorative sculpture by local Indigenous artist set to be unveiled on September 27th in North Battleford

A ceremony at Central Park, adjacent to the North Battleford Public Library, will mark the unveiling of a new piece of artwork from Red Pheasant Cree Nation artist Lionel Peyachew. The sculpture is a life-sized bronze work depicting one of the artist’s own family members, Annie Peyachew, one of the hundreds of Indigenous youth that attended the Battlefords Industrial School – a residential school situated just south of the Battlefords off Highway 4.

Annie Peyachew died at 7 years of age in late 1911 and she was interred on the site of the Industrial School Cemetery. In 2020, Lionel was commissioned to create a public sculptural piece by the Battlefords Industrial School Commemorative Association (BISCA), with Canadian Heritage funding for “Commemorating the History and Legacy of Residential Schools”. Lionel created the Annie Peyachew sculpture to honour residential school survivors and in memory of those who died in the institutions.   

The statue of Annie Peyachew is being donated to the City of North Battleford by BISCA and will be unveiled on September 27th, 2024 at 11:15am. This ceremony will include attendance by Their Honours, The Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, Russ Mirasty, and Mrs. Donna Mirasty. A luncheon will be served and the event is open to anyone who wishes to attend.

About the artist, Lionel Peyachew: Lionel Auburn Peyachew (BFA, MFA) is an Associate Professor in the Dept. of Interdisciplinary Studies at the First Nations University of Canada and teaches 3D design, 2D design, traditional Indigenous art, and Indigenous art history. Peyachew’s sculptural works can be found at the University of Regina, Yorkton Painted Hand Casino “Counting Coup” – SIGA, the Saskatchewan Pavilion for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, the City of Regina – “Redline”, which pays tribute to the citizens who lost their lives in the Regina Tornado of 1912, the City of Saskatoon Police Service – Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Memorial, the Mosaic Stadium Wall, the Buffalo Pound Interpretive Area (Parks Canada), the Calgary Central Library, and most recently, in Prince Albert, for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Sculptural Park Project.

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For more information:

Candace Toma, Public & Intergovernmental Relations Coordinator
306-441-0713 | publicrelations@cityofnb.ca