A unique sculpture at the Living Prairie Museum is teaching visitors about the role bison play in the Prairies. The museum is currently showcasing “Paskwawi-mostos: Caretakers of the Prairies,” which looks at bison and their importance in keeping the prairies healthy. “They’re huge animals that travel in large groups. They eat lots of food, and as they go, they change the whole landscape,” said Marika Olynyk, the museum’s curator. “They will dig at the soil. They will make room for new plants to grow. They will transport seeds on their bodies so that new things can grow in new places. Their heavy hooves will plant those seeds in new places. Basically, they help renew the prairie over and over again and keep it alive and healthy through time.” The transportation of seeds is the inspiration for the new sculpture. Visitors will be able to shape clay beads that contain seeds grown at the museum, which will then be attached to the sculpture. Once completed, the sculpture will be moved to the St. Boniface Hospital gallery, before being moved into an outside garden later this fall. “As the rain and the snow and the weather slowly dissolve that clay, those seeds are going to flow down into the soil and create a new little Prairie patch,” Olynyk said. The exhibit is available for the public to participate in until the first weekend of September. More information can be found on the museum’s website.
