Street art highlights Montreal’s Indigenous community

A new Montreal street art project showcases 50 Indigenous community members and their stories of forced displacement.

“I was inspired because it has happened all over the world and it’s supposed to be provocative and inspire change,” said Nakuset, project manager for the Indigenous Forced Displacement Project. “There are not that many projects that Inside Out has that’s Indigenous and especially not from Quebec – so we’re the first.”

The Inside Out Project founded by French photographer and street artist JR, has over 2,000 group actions around the world in 138 countries. Just one of the reasons Indigenous activist and community organizer Nakuset jumped at the opportunity to bring it to Montreal.

“Working in Montreal, I know that Indigenous people are forced out of a lot of places. So I wanted to call this project ‘Indigenous Forced Displacement.’ I was able to find three amazing photographers: Craig Commanda, Vicki MacDonald, and Martin Loft,” explained Nakuset. “All three different nations and they each took about 17 pictures – and each picture is representative of a part of their work. [They all have] different backgrounds and I think it’s important to let people know we’re still here.”

“There’s definitely something very poetic about this project, in the way that Indigenous people get to reclaim what was lost, their land and there’s something so powerful about sticking 50 faces of Indigenous people on buildings across Montreal,” said Clara Frey, social media coordinator, Indigenous Forced Displacement Project. “It holds this meaning of taking back what was mine and you can’t peel me off, I’m here for you to see.”

For Nakuset, she says that when you think of Canada, “it’s all Indian land – so the fact that we’re forced onto reservations and then some of us come into the city and there’s not enough safe spaces – like what happens in Cabot square and other areas in Montreal – so our safe spaces get smaller and smaller.”

“It’s an issue that’s so painful and there’s so much suffering involved, but this project goes to show that there are so many things that are beautiful in their lives,” adds Frey. “These people are vibrant and effervescent – and they have culture and it deserves to be shown and displayed to the people of Montreal.”

Montrealers will get to see the blown-up portraits plastered on buildings in the east end, Pointe-Saint-Charles, Little Italy, Parc-Extension, and more.

“The pictures are beautiful. They’re so beautiful and each of them is so stunning when you look at it,” said Nakuset. “Then there are different expressions that people have. You have some people that are elders, you have people like Kevin Deer that are knowledge keepers. […] And you have children. They’re our future. So I want people to look at these pictures and say, ‘wow.’”

“When you’re confronted with these images, you just see the person. You don’t see their labels, how old they are, what job they have – are they on the streets, you have to look at them and you are confronted with their humanity,” said Charlotte Frey, social media coordinator, Indigenous Forced Displacement Project.