New Indigenous Art Installation on Wolfe Island

A new art installation by Métis artist, curator, and educator Dr. Carleigh Candice Mignonne Milburn invites visitors to reflect on the relationships between human beings, animals, and the more-than-human world.

Developed through collaboration with Lodgepole Arts Alliance and Hotel Wolfe Island, the project explores how materials, objects, and environments shape our shared experiences and responsibilities.

Through these dialogues, the work considers what it means to center conversations around decolonization and collective efforts toward reconciliation.

About the Installation

This installation brings together material and participatory elements to create space for reflection and conversation. Visitors are encouraged to consider their own relationships with land, environment, and the more-than-human world.

Rooted in Indigenous knowledge systems and contemporary art practices, the project highlights how creative engagement can foster relational understanding and community dialogue.

Featured Artworks

When you see a heron, it is said that it is a sign that something good may be coming your way, and that you should give goodness back through an open heart. For many years, herons have watched over my family during summers spent on the water.

Herons symbolize wisdom and serendipities, qualities that are closely tied to how we hold and share our teachings. We hope that when you see a heron, you will give back to the island in a loving way, offering a gesture of reciprocity and care in return.

This work is available for purchase. For more information, please contact Lodgepole Alliance at shekon.aanii@lodgepolearts.ca

The teachings of the raspberry, nurturing, patience, and care, are a core inspiration for this piece, as the raspberry represents a blend of personal memories with themes of relationships, community, and our deep connection to the land. “[…] memories of that house began to fade, but the lessons from those raspberry bushes remained vivid. They remind me of the cherished moments my dad and I spent tending to the land together.”

Special Note: If you look through the door of The Dawson Restaurant, you can view the artworks currently on display in Stone’s Throw Café through the window. We hope you are able to sense the conversations taking place between the works.

This work has been exhibited as part of the Making Sense of Decolonization series.

This work is available for purchase.

Beyond the featured works above, additional pieces fill Hotel Wolfe Island, inviting visitors to move through the space and engage with the installation in its entirety. These works include:

• Biskaabiyang, 2024, inspired by the Anishinaabe term Biskaabiiyang (meaning “round trip” or “returning to ourselves”),
• Heart Berry, 2024, in many Indigenous cultures, the strawberry, known as the “heart berry”, symbolizes love, healing, and not only the heart in its shape, but also its role in nurturing strong relationships within families, communities, and the land.
• Making a Commitment, 2024, this sculpture consists of 365 strings and incorporates the four sacred plant medicines: tobacco, sage, sweetgrass, and cedar.
• Our Future Generations, 2026, this work reflects a family of birds that you might see on the island.

About the Artist

Dr. Carleigh Candice Mignonne Milburn is a Métis artist, curator, and educator whose interdisciplinary practice spans textiles, sculpture, and digital media. Her work explores the relationships between Indigenous knowledge systems, material culture, and emerging technologies.

Through participatory and community-based approaches, she invites audiences to reflect on connections between people, land, and the more-than-human world. Her practice integrates Indigenous visual methodologies with contemporary artmaking, including digital and AI-assisted processes.

Dr. Milburn has exhibited and collaborated with institutions including the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre, and the Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning. She is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Indigenous Teacher Education Program at Queen’s University.