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603 St. Mary's Road
Location Map
"Ode'imin"
14.5' x 58'
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Location: SE corner St. Anne's/St. Mary's Junction; North Face
Occupant: Ode'imin
District: St. Vital
Neighbourhood: Varennes
Artist(s): Jeannie White Bird, Mandy van Leeuwen
Year: 2022
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A story about the project:
On June 15, as the sky gives birth to the strawberry moon,
The Birth Centre starts a new life as Ode'imin.
The literal translation of Ode'imin into English from
Anishinabemowin is "strawberry". The teaching that comes
with the name is "where new life comes from."
Ten years ago, Women's Health Clinic (WHC) started its
journey of shedding a colonial history by asking for and
receiving a Spirit name for the centre on St. Mary's and St.
Anne's. But the work to take this early conception of
reconciliation to fruition was left undone and that work
withered on the vine.
In 2021, an Elder was given tobacco and asked for a Spirit
name. Following a Fast and Pipe Ceremony, the Elder said
a new name came to her and it was up to the organization
to decide what to do with it. The organization apologized
for the past actions of previous members and the new name
was accepted. The ceremony that brings this new name to
life is accompanied by the unveiling of a Mural that gives
expression to the teaching the name bestows.
Artists Jeannie White Bird and Mandy van Leeuwen had
the honour of bringing this Mural to life. Their
collaboration is yet another step in the journey of
reconciliation. The artists had previously worked together
and became good friends. But this time they had an even
higher purpose.
"There was a recognition of the need to open the doors of
the birthing centre to the wider community and become
more inclusive," says White Bird. "Dynamic change like
that takes a lot of time."
Over the last few years, WHC began a reconciliation
journey by hiring a traditional Elder as part of its
management team. This led to many changes, such as
including a Grandmother's Circle in the hiring of their
executive director. White Bird was asked to join the
Grandmother's Circle and, upon visiting Ode'imin,
immediately recognized the need for a potent visual symbol
on the blank facade of the building. The executive
committee agreed.
"It was a way to heighten the meaning," says van Leeuwen.
"Art becomes part of the sacred work to breathe new life
into this special space. There is ceremony in what we are
doing." Like White Bird, van Leeuwen is an experienced
muralist. Both artists have worked on numerous Murals
throughout Manitoba.
The Mural is part of the clinic's goal of including the
community in Ode'imin. Along with its very public
presence, the artwork is the product of engagement with
community members, who were invited to share their
vision of both the centre and the mural. This process
reflects the guiding principles of the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action.
The artists say they became part of something greater than
themselves. Their collaboration was a way of lifting many
others as well as each other.
Each person can find personal meaning in this special and
important project, which reflects many elements of
women's health encompassed by Ode'imin. The offerings
of the centre go beyond the services of midwives and
include before and after care, education and counselling,
and lactation support. Each birthing room bears the
Indigenous name of a medicinal flower that has a
traditional use in the birth process. Ode'imin welcomes
women to engage in their personal, cultural, or traditional
practices such as smudging.
Like the space within the walls of Ode'imin, the mural
embraces the many spiritual and mystical elements of
giving birth. The artists' use of surrealism allows for depth
of meaning through many layers of representation.
The phases of the moon reflect the menstrual cycle,
crowned by the fullness of the strawberry moon. From the
flesh of a strawberry, the life-giving waters of the river that
spill onto mother earth reveal a female profile. Another
berry cleaves to release a bear emerging from hibernation, a
potent symbol of rebirth and renewal. A dragonfly clings to
a tender leaf, evoking the power of transformation, of the
nymph compelled to move toward the water's surface.
"As soon as it breaks the surface, there's no going back,"
reflects White Bird. "It's like a birthing in and of itself."
van Leeuwen points to the immature berries on the edges of
the ripe fruit. Like breasts swollen with milk, they hold the
promise of sustaining life. "The strawberry allows us to
celebrate the feminine in a way that is gentle and loving,"
she says.
Every brushstroke was carefully considered, every symbol
deliberately placed to honour the teachings of Ode'imin.
Both sunrise and sunset can be seen.
"Not all spirits that come through pregnancy stay with us,"
White Bird gently points out.
But it is for the beholder to decide which is the sunrise and
which the sunset, here captured in the same space. Such is
the process of reconciliation, where the sun sets on a
painful past just as it rises toward a hopeful future.
Story Writer: Christine Hanlon
Provided by Mandy van Leeuwen
Excerpts from Mural Unveiling:
Elder Flora Ruck (who gifted the name for the Centre): "When the time came with this
name, I dreamt. Four nights- four times not in succession, but four times I dreamt of this
strawberry, and the Grandmothers. And then I dreamt about that midwife that brought
me into this world and reminding me where I came from. This, she said. It was a
strawberry but open in half. So she said this is where you came out of from your
Mother's womb. So it was, indeed, a special vision. The name Ode'imin means
strawberry, in Ojibway. Ode'imin is where life comes from. When you have the
opportunity to look at that strawberry. Cut it in half and it represents where you came out
of, from your Mother's womb. It is a very special place. It is where you were conceived
and where you were born out of. Ode'imin is a healing, just like the blueberry that
represents the semen of that individual who planted that seed into that Mother so we can
be born. There are many things that I can talk about with these two berries. It is not
imagination but true fact that the blueberry is the seed of the man and that strawberry is
the insert where the seed goes so that we can be here. Ode'imin to me is very very sacred-
a womb. Wherever I am out picking berries I pray to Ode'imin so that I can be blessed
with many generations."
Jeannie White Bird: "Elder Flora mentioned about the strawberry. What was really
significant with it is that theme of where new life comes from. The Strawberry also
represents that heart, a place of love. It was also important for us to depict those
Grandmother Moons. There are 28 Grandmother Moons as we see it up in the sky; and it
just so happens that these moons will align with every single day in June. Today (June
15, 2022) is the strawberry full moon! We are in line with Mother Nature. We are in line
with the Grandmothers. We are in line with the Mothers who are giving birth. Thank
you for believing in the power of love in the power of birth in the power of Woman, and
the Grandmothers!"
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