Downtown Montreal display uses art to highlight Kanien'keh:ka history

A festive display on Peel Street in Montreal isn't only esthetically pleasing it's also an invitation to learnmore about Indigenous history.

From Sherbrooke Street to Ren-Lvesque Boulevard, Peel is lined with lights in the shape of bears, turtles, and wolves, the three clans of the Kanien'keh:ka (Mohawk) people.

The light installation, a project spearheaded by the downtown merchants' association, was created by ISM Art & Design, a commercial design company, in collaboration with the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake, a community south of Montreal.

The idea is to give passersby the opportunity to learn more about the history of the Kanien'keh:ka people.It will be up until Feb. 15.

Kyle Williams, an artist from Kahnawake, created drawings that are affixed to panels at street level on Peel that, using a QR code, direct people to a website that gives more information about the origins of the Rotinonhsin:ni (People of the Longhouse) clan system.

His white-on-black drawings depict a bear, turtle, and wolf, as well as the peacemaker, one of the most important figures in Kanien'keh:ka culture.

"I tried to give them as much of a striking, iconic quality as I could," he said.

"I just hope that they're memorable, and then that kind of draws you in to try to learn more about it."

Watch the video above to hearWilliams talk about his art and the inspiration behind his drawing of the peacemaker.