Mural planned to honour Sheila Croteau, Saint John elder and community leader

Ross Mackay and his sister Amanda Murphy say they were blown away when they learned Saint John received a $30,000 grant for a mural to honour their late mother, Sheila Croteau.

"She's in every place I look in the city — she's everywhere, still ... And just hearing about this and what Saint John's doing — it's just amazing," said Mackay, who lives in the city.

Croteau's son Ross Mackay says she touched people 'in a way that she will always be remembered.' (Submitted by Amanda Murphy)

Croteau was known for her presence in the community and her strong sense of Indigenous identity, having taught about Indigenous history over the course of her life, before her death in a Rothesay house fire in early 2020.

The city received the funding from the Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture for a large-scale installation. The mural, which will include benches and a healing garden, will be installed in a space in the south end of the city, according to a report by city staff.

The space will be chosen by the city, a group of artists and the south-end community centre P.U.L.S.E

Mackay hopes the memorial will honour his mother's legacy, 'giving homage to being Aboriginal and just Aboriginal rights and women — what she stood for," he said.

"She was such an amazing person who had a good grounding in Aboriginal culture and history and she really loved Saint John."

Amanda Murphy, Croteau's daughter says she is touched by the project and describes her mother as a "a light-of-your-life type of person."

"Just bear in mind that she was a person of light and she touched a lot of humans," Murphy said.

"I'm just so happy about it. I really don't have any words for that. Whatever any artist does, hopefully they keep with the likeness of her and what she represented as a person and to the community."

Croteau's Indigenous identity key to project

Kate Wilcott, the arts and culture co-ordinator for the city, knew Croteau personally.

"She was very active in the community as a volunteer," Wilcott said.

Sheila Croteau's daughter, Amanda Murphy, says her mother was 'a light' and hopes the mural will capture this. (Submitted by Amanda Murphy)

"She ran scouting groups and was involved with various community organizations and churches. I've heard a lot of people describe her as a mama to so many young people and older people in the south end … so many people who are adults now speak so warmly of Sheila.

"When she passed away in 2020 it was such a loss."

Fall 2025 unveiling planned

Croteau was a survivor of the Sixties Scoop. She did not grow up Cree, but was taken from her biological parents in Alberta during a time when Indigenous children were routinely removed from their communities and adopted out to non-Indigenous families.

Wilcott says the city is consulting with Sitansisk Elder Chris Brooks, of St. Mary's First Nation in Fredericton, to make sure Croteau's history and Indigenous identity are respected.

"The call to artists will be for an Indigenous artist or an artist collective," Wilcott said.

"The plan is to have that artist come and spend time in the community along with Elder Chris Brooks. So they'll be working directly with the community … I don't think anyone knows what the art will look like at this point, but it will definitely tell the story of Sheila and her place in the community."

The city is also consulting with Mawi'Art, the Wabanaki artist collective based in Fredericton.

Wilcott anticipates a possible unveiling for fall 2025.

Inspiring a generation of helpers

Chris Brooks says he hopes the finished mural will tie "the past to the present."

He says Saint John "is rich in Indigenous history because it is the homeland of the Wolastoqey nation. Our people interacted there for centuries. The history is still present in that area."

"When you talk about all the social issues that face people now — homelessness, mental health addictions, all these different things that [Croteau] was interacting with  — we always got to think about what comes tomorrow," he said.

Sitansisk Elder Chris Brooks hopes that the project will inspire future generations of 'helpers, volunteers' and community service workers. (CBC)

Brooks hopes that the project will inspire a future generation of "helpers, volunteers" and community services workers.

"She touched people in a way that she will always be remembered … we miss her very much," said Murphy.

"I've been praying about this and just hoping for something like this for a long time. So it's really a blessing," Mackay said.