WHITE BEAR FIRST NATION — The first people in Saskatchewan to receive King Charles III Coronation Medals have been honoured in Regina. Lt.-Gov. Russ Mirasty hosted the event on May 6 to mark the first anniversary of the King’s Coronation with 22 prominent citizens awarded medals. The list included former premiers and lieutenant governors, environmental conversationalists, police officers, military members and artists.
On that list was one of the province’s most accomplished artists, Michael Lonechild from White Bear First Nation.
“It’s a special thing for me that I got chosen to be one of the recipients of the Medal because it’s a unique medal,” Lonechild told the World-Spectator. “To be one of the first ones to receive a medal, it’s a big honour for me.”
Lonechild was nominated by Mirasty — Saskatchewan's first indigenous lieutenant governor — to be a recipient, making the award extra special for the Cree artist. To be eligible for the King Charles III Coronation Medal, a person must have made a significant contribution to Canada or a particular province, territory, region, or community; or attained an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to the country. They also had to be alive on the date of the King’s Coronation.
“I want to thank Lieutenant Governor Russ Mirasty for nominating me,” Lonechild said. “It’s an honour to be recognized as being an artist. There’s a lot of great artists in Saskatchewan, those are the ones I want to be represented with.”
Lonechild gained an interest in art at a young age, inspired by his father and uncle sketching.
“The way I started taking up art was because I watched my dad. He didn’t paint, but he always sketched. From there, I sketched until I was good enough, too. It got boring after, so I had to start colouring them somehow,” Lonechild said with a laugh. “It’s telling a story of my people. It’s not only my people that had horses and wagons, it was the pioneers - that’s where we got the wagons from; trading with the local farmers.”
“I started painting when I was 15, so that’s a long, long time ago!”
His work is widely known for its focus on Cree traditions, the realities and struggles facing his people, and scenes of life on the prairies. Lonechild’s work has been featured in shows across the country including Estevan, Saskatoon, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Kelowna. South of the border, he’s had shows in Denver, Colorado and was even invited by Pan Canadian to show his work at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC.
“My art takes me all over the place,” he humbly admitted. “I don’t know if I’ll ever retire. Art to me is not a job, It’s more like a really well-paying hobby!”
Another source of pride for Lonechild was his work with the Treaty Four Education Alliance based in Fort Qu’Appelle, which allowed him to share his passion for art with the next generation.
“Their mandate was to come up with a curriculum to teach the First Nations kids on the reserve that have schools to give them a different idea on how to approach education
