(NW) River Lot 11 - the name of Edmonton's upcoming Indigenous art park

One of Canada's first outdoor Indigenous art parks has a name and six pieces of art to go into it in 2018.

The City of Edmonton's naming committee gave the Indigenous art park the name (NW) River Lot 11, pronounced EE-nuRiver Lot 11. (NW) means "I am of the Earth," an ode to the ancestral lands of the Cree.

River Lot 11 is a nod to Joseph McDonald, a Mtis settler who originally lived on the land.

The park, located in Edmonton's river valley, is part of the development of the Queen Elizabeth Park plan first brought forward in 2013. It is located within Treaty no. 6 territory.

"We are proud to share our lands, our history and our unique art with Edmontonian and visitors to our Treaty no. 6 territory," Treaty no. 6 Grand Chief Wilton Littlechild said in a release.

"As Mtis people, we are proud of our heritage and look forward to sharing our distinct culture with visitors to (NW) River Lot 11 Indigenous art park," Mtis Nation of Alberta president Audrey Poitras said.

The park will display six pieces of Indigenous art, all created by Canadian Indigenous artists. The theme is "the stories of This Place," which will illustrate different perspectives on how Indigenouspeople connect to the land and area.

"For centuries, this area has been a place of gathering, relationship building and commerce for many peoples," Edmonton's mayor Don Iveson said in the news release. "I am proud to acknowledge the traditional land this park sits on [is] within Treaty no. 6 Territory and the homeland of the Mtis."

As part of the federal government's Canada 150 infrastructure program, the city of Edmonton was awarded $500,000 in January.

• Northern and central Alberta get $1.7 million in Canada 150 funding

The city said in the release that money will go to support the development of the art park, along with development of a picnic area and shade shelter, lookout seating along Saskatchewan Drive and surrounding trail improvements.

The park is expected to open next fall.

Edmonton proposes aboriginal arts park

11 years ago

Duration 2:13

If funded, the park will be built at Queen Elizabeth Park and will feature the work of aboriginal artists in the city.