Travellers arriving at the Edmonton International Airport (YEG) will be reminded they are stepping onto Treaty 6 territory and the Métis Homeland by a new art installation by Bigstone Cree Nation’s Lance Cardinal. The installation between sections C and D consists of person-sized letters spelling YEG, each of which contains imagery inspired by the land. The Y features a bison standing in front of a sunset, the E a mountainscape, and the G an Indigenous person standing below northern lights. The piece is called “wahkôhtowin,” which means kinship, Cardinal said. “It’s all about family and community, but also that relationship we have as Indigenous people to Mother Earth, to the animals, to the land,” he told CTV News Edmonton on Friday after the installation was unveiled. It is the first time his work has been featured at an airport, which is exciting for Cardinal beyond the number of people who will have a chance to see it. “We should be seen here. It’s an international space, a place where people from all over the world are coming here. So I think they should know this is Indigenous land,” he said, noting that often Alberta is first associated with the oil and gas industry. “It’s really important that we continue to keep reminding people that this is Treaty 6 territory, that this Indigenous space we are in has been lived in, worked in, and thrived in by our people since time immemorial. We have to remember that we have to walk together with understanding, side by side, toward reconciliation.” The artwork was installed ahead of the 2026 International Indigenous Tourism Conference in Edmonton Feb. 17-19. The conference is an opportunity for Alberta to showcase its 200-some tourism operators and industry potential, said conference chair and Indigenous Tourism Alberta CEO Chelsey Quirk. The airport’s newest artwork is a story of collaboration, she said. “That’s part of the work that we have to do, collectively, working alongside the business community – Indigenous and non-Indigenous businesses. Working together to share the story, to share our stories. “When we talk about Indigenous tourism, we are the original storytellers. We are the original tour guides. So working together to share those stories is imperative.” With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Dave Mitchell
