The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
Spine design on display
Eskasoni artist shines light on Indigenous authors
SYDNEY — A new initiative by the Nova Scotia Community College is using a logo designed by Eskasoni artist Riki Lee Christmas to highlight Indigenous authors and content at campuses across the province.
The 33-year-old recent graduate of the applied media and communication arts program at the NSCC Marconi Campus in Sydney created the image — a north-facing turtle with a medicine wheel on its back — for an assignment in her graphic design class. The campus librarian, Kara Thompson, challenged the 15 students to design a logo that could be displayed on book spines to easily identify Mi’kmaw and first-voice Indigenous books and materials.
“The turtle is one of my favourite creatures. It represents so much in our culture — it’s in our stories and legends and represents one of the seven sacred teachings, truth,” Christmas said.
“I put the medicine wheel on its shell, which also represents so much meaning in our culture. The four colours, red, yellow, white and black, represent the four directions, north, south, east and west. I was also thinking of Turtle Island, the home of Indigenous peoples.”
The design was chosen by Marconi Campus elder-inresidence, Danny Paul, of Membertou, and while the initiative was first intended for that campus, Christmas was soon told her design would be displayed in NSCC campus libraries across the province.
“I was shocked and overwhelmed because I never thought I’d be able to accomplish something like that or create something that would be acknowledged by so many people,” she said.
“Being a part of something so big, and the significance of it all — it’s just amazing.”
Christmas has always loved nature, especially animals, and discovered her love of art through photography back in 2015. She remembers walking on the beach in Eskasoni and seeing a family of eagles with a new hatchling.
“I always wished I could zoom in to get a better look, so I was inspired to get a camera with a telephoto lens, and that’s where it started. I just wanted to get closer and closer, to really see things that you can’t with the naked eye,” she said.
“I was inspired by the beauty and the wildlife around us — we’re surrounded by hills and trees, and then the Bras d’or Lake, and I like to show the world that our community is beautiful and that we really love and respect the land, the waters, the wildlife.”
Christmas found new and surprising ways to express herself through her program at NSCC, including graphic design.
“It’s something I didn’t think I could do before but now I’m pretty confident I can do anything I put my mind to,” she said.
NSCC launched the Truth and Reconciliation Collection and Christmas’s logo identifying Indigenous books and material in campus libraries across Nova Scotia as part of Mi’kmaq History Month in October.
“The change makes library research easier and encourages reconciliation by celebrating Indigenous authors and content,” NSCC wrote in its annual community report available on its website.
Christmas, who now runs her own photography business and is planning to get into more graphic design, said she is happy to be part of something that gives prominence to her Mi’kmaw culture.
“It’s about spreading knowledge and acknowledgment of our people, and I feel so honoured.”