Regina International Airport hosts Indigenous artisan market

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Regina’s airport is hosting an Indigenous artisan market in honour of National Indigenous Peoples Day that will showcase the talent of artists and educate people on the history and cultural significance of Indigenous art.

“These types of events I feel make people feel like they can come and learn and see the artistry and the dancing and the culture. We are still here, we are the original fashion designers, and we’re not going anywhere, “guest speaker Norma Baker Flyinghorse, otherwise known as Red Berry Woman said.

“We are happy to have art to sell and have people wear it because that goes back to helping us educate people because it’s a talking piece.”

Staff at the airport expressed excitement to be able to showcase more of Saskatchewan’s Indigenous culture to passengers arriving from all over the world.

“With over a million passengers every year, we want to have more representation in the airport. It’s great to have it right here in the arrivals terminal for passengers arriving as well as those meets and greeters coming to pick people up,” airport director of revenue development & customer relations Justin Reves said.

For those who are showcasing their work, it is an opportunity to share stories in addition to art. Many of the talents have been passed down from one generation to the next.

“I have been beading since I was seven-years-old. My kookum taught me, my grandmother from Piapot First Nation. While all my cousins were outside playing, I was inside learning from my kookum. I taught my daughter and I’m teaching my granddaughter how to bead. They have that sense of ‘I can do this’ it’s already instilled in them” artist Jenn Creeley said.

The sale will be running until June 20th at the airport with anyone welcome to come check out the pieces and learn more about the stories behind them.