‘It will feel amazing’: Indigenous artist speaks as Treaty 8 mural takes shape

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — An Indigenous artist is inching closer to completing the Treaty 8 mural project against the backdrop of a prominent office building in town. 

Alisa Parenteau (nee Froh) is hard at work on the artwork, which will be completed on the Treaty 8 Tribal Association’s south wall at its offices on 100th Avenue in Fort St. John.

Vandals targeted the wall with profanities and swastikas earlier this year, and the mural project was announced last month.

Parenteau said the mural, which will depict an Indigenous woman holding the Treaty 8 medal against a landscape, came to her in a dream back in 2021.

“It will just feel amazing,” said Parenteau. “I am still in awe that I even have a chance to do this work and to help [Treaty 8], and they’re helping me and in a healing process here as well doing this painting.

“I’m really appreciative and feel grateful to be able to participate in this.”

Although the original schedule for the mural was to take two weeks, there were obstacles including wet weather and a death in Parenteau’s family.

Parenteau says she has been working for six hours a day this week, and is hoping to put more time in as August draws to a close.

She’s hoping the mural will be finished by the end of this weekend, with Parenteau saying: “It really depends on the weather.”

She adds the scale of the picture has prompted some moments of engineering ingenuity, including creating a circle for the Treaty 8 medallion.

“Circles are one of the hardest shapes to do in art,” said Parenteau. “I had to do some engineering with some duct tape and a Sharpie. But we got her, it’s a perfect circle on the wall, and I’m pretty proud of it.”

Those looking to see Parenteau’s work in progress can go to Treaty 8’s offices on 10233 100th Avenue in Fort St. John.