Canada’s currency is seeing a historic moment, with a new toonie beginning circulation on Thursday.
Daphne Odjig, from Wikwemikoong Unceded Territory in Ontario, is the first woman and visual artist to be featured on a Canadian coin.
“It’s part of our role to share the fabric of the country and Daphne Odjig is definitely part of that,” said Marie Lemay, the president and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint.
“It is so important to remember and to understand what she’s done and how big a trail she’s blazed.”
Marie Lemay said Odjig has made an incredible impact on women and artists in the country.
“As people get this coin into their hands and they look at the beautiful colour, I’m sure they’re gonna feel it first. But then that they go and know more about Daphne Odjig,” said Lemay.
Odjig’s family was among the Potawatomi who migrated north and settled in Wikwemikong after the War of 1812. Odjig was born and raised on the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve on Manitoulin Island (Lake Huron) in Ontario in 1919.
Bonnie Devine, a longtime friend of the late Odjig — who died in 2016 in Kelowna, B.C. — says Odjig art was not only personal; it spoke of political themes she witnessed throughout her life of 97 years.
“She taught me how to be real and how to tell the truth,” said Devine, who recalled Odjig telling her about a time in her life where she visited a displaced community in Grand Rapids. Devine describes the experience as a turning point for Odjig and her artistry.
“She became aware of the political implications of displacement. Poverty,” said Devine.
“The Manitoba Museum has a beautiful mural. She was here onsite in 1972,” said Dorota Blumczyńska, the CEO of the Manitoba Museum. Blumczyńska said Odjig’s mural, called The Creation of the World, was painted in the museum.
That’s why the coin unveiling took place right in front of the mural.
“And it is not just art,” said Blumczyńska. “It’s an understanding of the world. It’s an understanding of interconnection and it’s a path forward for everyone.”
“I wasn’t aware that (the mural) actually was right in the entrance. So when we walked around that corner and saw it, I was just in awe. It just looked so different than what it would look like in pictures when you see it in person,” said Stan Somerville, Odjig’s son.
Somerville says he was emotional when the coin was unveiled. His thoughts went back to when she opened an art gallery in Winnipeg.
“I remember when they opened their shop at 331 Donald (Street) here, and they had that open and gave opportunity for many, many First Nations people to show their art here for the first time.”
People can visit coin-exchanges with the Royal Canadian Mint to get the new Odjig toonie.
