As residents, staff, and visitors move through the main floor, they encounter artworks shaped by land‑based practices and grounded in both historical and future connections. Shawn McClure’s Eagle Spirit greets those who enter the main entrance of the Jubilee Building. This formwork represents a coming together of cultures. Approaching the elevators, Jane Ash Poitra’s Four Generations and Counting honours cultural reclamation and traditional ways in the hopes of protecting future generations.
Grounded in Spirit
Sacred Land, Shifting Time
Artwork on the Main Floor of the Jubilee Building
The permanent artworks installed throughout the Jubilee Building speak to the layered heritage and ongoing transformation of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. Each artist brings a distinct connection to this place—its histories, lands, and communities—through storytelling embedded in material, media, and form. Together, these works trace diverse narratives tied to the region, revealing how memory and landscape interweave to form a living archive. In this space, the textures of past and present converge, inviting reflection as they enter into dialogue with the civic functions of the building.
Navigating the art through storytelling
At the service counter, Maggie Paulin’s Mukluks, reimagined by Tiffany Shaw, reflects floral embroidery passed down from Paulin’s great‑grandmother, a local moccasin maker. The work speaks to intergenerational ties to craft, family traplines, and the Snye. Approaching Council Chambers, viewers encounter Bernadette Dumais’ bustle and otter pelt. Her artwork Stars in the Midst evokes ceremony, stewardship, and remembrance of the children who never returned home from residential school.
Within Council Chambers, the presence of both a gavel and a talking stick symbolizes the meeting of two traditions: one grounded in municipal governance, the other in shared voice, respect, and collective decision‑making. The paintings in this space by Frederick R. McDonald emerged from deep conversations with Elders and Knowledge Keepers from across the region. They reflect cultural traditions, lived experiences, and a shared commitment to moving forward in a good way for generations to come.
The artworks displayed on the ground level honour the First Peoples and the land on which we stand. They provide a grounding experience for all who enter the Jubilee Building and acknowledge the communities that have shaped this region over time. The addition of a rotating gallery space in the main lobby allows for contemporary perspectives from artists, extending the dialogue around what it means to belong here. Together, the artworks on the main floor of Jubilee Building offer multiple viewpoints that reflect the evolving spirit of the region of Wood Buffalo.
This project was made possible with the guidance and support of many people, including Elders, Knowledge Keepers, Indigenous Advisors, the Public Art Committee, and curatorial support by Tiffany Shaw, with assistance from Jacqueline Armitstead. The process was stewarded by the Recreation and Culture Branch of the RMWB.
Eagle Spirit
kî mosomîno mikisew
detąnichog bedayiąne
Artist: Shawn McClure
Brazilian soapstone, 2025
16” x 22” x 25.5”
Shawn McClure is a sculptor and tattoo artist, a father, and a resident of Fort McKay. He works intuitively with raw materials, allowing each sculpture to emerge from within and guide its own form.
McClure has been carving for over twenty years. His background in the trades, combined with his mixed Dene and Irish heritage, shapes his approach to material, weight, composition, and storytelling.
An active member of his community, McClure shares his skills with youth and encourages them to trust their intuition as they explore materials and tools. He continues to expand his practice through new techniques and collaborations, while grounding his work in fatherhood and land-based activities.
Four Generations and Counting...
niyo oskân mîna oti nikân
t’a dįghį t’a elaharelah alǫ holt’a
Artist: Jane Ash Poitras
Mixed media on canvas, 2022
70” x 42”
Four Generations and Counting is structured around the number four: directions, seasons, stages of life, winds, elements, and races. It speaks to the reclamation of tradition and culture and was created in response to the 2021 findings of 215 unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.
Dotted across the canvas, hundreds of people gather in celebration, protected by the Shaman. Elders are heard, voices rise in song, and ceremony is maintained. Teepees represent traditional ways of living, when land is sacred and communities work together. Interdependence signifies survival-physically, emotionally, and spiritually. These ancient values are echoed through ancestral voices and the generations that came before.
In the photo, the four Dene boys on their way to a hunt represent the hopes of future generations and the continued promise of honouring tradition.
Biography
Jane Ash Poitras, RCA, is an internationally acclaimed visual artist whose work has been showcased in numerous solo and group exhibitions around the world, and can be found in many prestigious public, private and commercial collections.
She is a graduate of the University of Alberta with degrees in microbiology and printmaking, and has a Master of Fine Arts in Painting and Sculpture from New York’s Columbia University. She is a longtime lecturer at the U of A and a much-in-demand guest lecturer across North America and overseas.
Jane Ash Poitras, of Cree/Dene descent, was born in the northern Alberta community of Fort Chipewyan and grew up in Edmonton. Her visual presentation of First Nations has had a tremendous impact on Canadian art.
Stars in the Midst
acâkos mêkwâno kîci awîyak wistâ mêkwâno
denenethe boretiį
Artist: Bernadette Cree Dumais
Fancy bustle and otter pelt (willow and ribbon), 2024
50" x 45” x 15”
Bernadette Cree Dumais was born in 1954 in nistawâyâw (Fort McMurray). The creation of Stars in the Midst took several years and speaks to Bernadette’s life story as a residential school survivor.
Crystals placed at the tips of the bustle’s feathers represent the spirits of Indigenous children who never returned home from residential schools and who now rest with the Creator. Eagle feathers passed down from Bernadette’s maternal grandfather signify the eagle’s connection to the Creator.
The otter pelt honours her nêhiyawak (Woodland Cree) heritage and her belonging to the otter clan, whose emblem is represented by the lily pad.
Bernadette continues to create traditional regalia and carries knowledge of culture, language, and landbased learning through teaching and practice.
Maggie Paulin’s Mukluks
Maggie Paulin’s ocî mukluksak
Maggie Paulin’s bechį mukluks
Artist: Tiffany Shaw & Elizabeth King
UV ink on composite panels, 2025
296” x 45”
This artwork incorporates embroidery from mukluks created by Margaret (Maggie) Paulin (1910–2001), a Métis moccasin maker born in Fort McKay. Maggie is the mother of Elizabeth King (1939–2025) and the great-grandmother of Tiffany Shaw (b. 1982). Created collaboratively by Elizabeth and Tiffany, the work honours their shared cultural heritage and deep ties to the region.
Maggie raised her seven children along the Snye, near the present-day Jubilee Building. A gifted craftswoman, she created moccasins and mukluks for the community, incorporating beadwork, embroidery, and other techniques. Though she never learned to read, Maggie possessed a remarkable ability to replicate patterns from memory.
Through colour, linework, and floral motifs, this artwork brings together past, present, and future generations rooted in place. Elizabeth King passed away near the completion of this project; the work stands as a tribute to her kindness and the legacy she shared with family and community.
Appreciation to Jacqueline Armitstead, Lois Shaw and Crystal Shaw.
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