Ashevak's owl featured on new bill
Late Cape Dorset artist's work used as security feature on commemorative $10 bill
Beth Brown
Northern News Services
Saturday, April 15, 2017
NUNAVUT
A rendition of late Cape Dorset artist Kenojuak Ashevak's Owl's Bouquet is being used as a security feature on a new $10 bill being issued by the Bank of Canada on June 1. The commemorative bill marks the 150th anniversary of Confederation.
The work of late Cape Dorset artist Kenojuak Ashevak's Owl's Bouquet - lower left - will help secure a new $10 bill to be issued by the Bank of Canada in June to mark the 150th anniversary of Confederation. - Beth Brown/NNSL photo
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While the new note incorporates many pieces of the Canadian story, the owl was chosen for its significance within Inuit culture. The iconic Northern image is set in the translucent section of the polymer bill.
Bank of Canada representative Michelle Marselle said the double-sided silver owl is one of many features that make the birthday bill difficult to duplicate.
Forty million limited edition Canada 150 bank notes are to be issued as legal tender on June 1, allowing for lead up circulation time to Canada Day celebrations.
"By July 1, everybody should have one if they want one," said Marselle.
NTI president Aluki Kotierk said the note recognizes Ashevak's contribution to society.
"This is significant for family members and community members and for all Inuit," stated Kotierk on April 7. "We celebrate Inuit creativity and achievement. Every time Canadians see the $10 bill, it will be a reminder that Inuit have been here for much longer than 150 years."
QIA resident PJ Akeeagok also recognized the note stating, "I am honored to celebrate with all Canadians that Ms. Kenojuak Ashevak's powerful art is being recognized by the Bank of Canada. Ms. Ashevak's drawings are known worldwide. I am pleased to be here with her family to celebrate this profound Inuk woman from our Qikiqtani region."
The $10 bill was chosen as it already featured father of Confederation Sir John A. Macdonald, but also so that all Canadians could easily get one.
"We didn't want to use higher denomination bills because not everybody uses those and we wanted it to be accessible to kids and students," she said.
She said as the note is not a regular bill distributed in ATMs, Canadians might have to request a bill at their bank.
"You may not see a whole bunch of them in circulation because Canadians may actually choose to hold on to these bills."
Besides Sir John A., the note features father of Confederation Sir George-Étienne Cartier who championed French Canadian minorities, as well as Agnes Macphail, the first woman elected to the House of Commons in 1921, and James Gladstone - also called by his Blackfoot name Akay-na-muka - who was the first Canadian senator of First Nations origin.
The Assomption or arrow sash pattern of the Métis people borders the bill.
The back of the bank note features five natural scenes from across Canada: the Twin Sister mountain peaks in B.C.; a wheat field in Saskatchewan; forests near the Kipawa River that runs across the Canadian Shield in central Canada; Cape Bonavista in Newfoundland and Labrador, where John Cabot is likely to have landed in 1497; and an image of the aurora borealis as seen over Wood Buffalo National Park in NWT.
"Canadians told us they wanted to see the beautiful vastness of our country and how different it is," said Marselle.
The bill is one of four commemorative bills ever released by the Bank of Canada.
