{"id":160686,"date":"2023-06-16T16:58:28","date_gmt":"2023-06-16T20:58:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/?p=160686"},"modified":"2023-06-20T18:10:08","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T22:10:08","slug":"okisikow-angel-way-day-celebrated-in-edmonton-with-city-declaration-new-crosswalk-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/okisikow-angel-way-day-celebrated-in-edmonton-with-city-declaration-new-crosswalk-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Ok\u00eesikow (Angel) Way Day celebrated in Edmonton with city declaration, new crosswalk art"},"content":{"rendered":"

Community members gathered along 101A Avenue in Edmonton, known as \"Ok\u00eesikow (Angel) Way,\" on Wednesday to commemorate the street's history of gender-based violence to mark the first official Ok\u00eesikow (Angel) Way Day.<\/p>\n

While the local Indigenous community has always celebrated Ok\u00eesikow (Angel) Way Day, this year, Mayor Amarjeet Sohi declared June 14, 2023, Ok\u00eesikow (Angel) Way Day in Edmonton to help bring awareness to victims of gender-based violence and bring help to those who need it.<\/p>\n

April Eve Wiberg, founder of the Stolen Sisters and Brothers Action Movement, spoke on the history of the road.<\/p>\n

\"The initiative first started in Iqaluit, Nunavit [in 2007]. In 2011, Edmonton became the 5th city to have its own Angel Way,\" Wiberg said.<\/p>\n

\"We chose as a community to give it an Indigenous name: 'Ok\u00eesikow' means 'angel' in Cree,\" Wiberg added.<\/p>\n

Ok\u00eesikow (Angel) Way has gained a lot more attention over the years, and Wiberg says she's \"really moved by the amount of support that this initiative is receiving,\" following the proclamation from the city.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, a new crosswalk was also unveiled on the street. Painted by Edmonton artist Nikk Goodswimmer, the new crosswalk on Ok\u00eesikow (Angel) Way, is located alongside new street blades designed by the late Gloria Neapetung, who was an artist, social activist, street survivor, sister and member of Yellow Quill First Nation in Saskatchewan.<\/p>\n

\"Two

The street blades, designed by the late Gloria Neapetung, that will be displayed on Ok\u00eesikow (Angel) Way. Photo by Ryan Hunt.<\/p><\/div>\n

When asked about the long-term vision for Ok\u00eesikow (Angel) Way, Wiberg, who spent a lot of time with Gloria Neapetung, said it will likely honour the late artist.<\/p>\n

\"[The future] may include a mural of Gloria. Gloria represents the community of survivors that Ok\u00eesikow Way is meant for. She was a victim [herself],\" Wiberg said.<\/p>\n

\"It was an honor that I was asked by her family to deliver some words...I feel Gloria's spirit here with us today, and it's an honor to be a part of this over and over again,\" Wiberg added.<\/p>\n

\"April

April Eve Wiberg speaks in front of community members and shares stories on Ok\u00eesikow (Angel) Way. Photo by Ryan Hunt.<\/p><\/div>\n

Listen to the full CFWE interview with April Eve Wiberg below:<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Community members gathered along 101A Avenue in Edmonton, known as “Ok\u00eesikow (Angel) Way,” on Wednesday to commemorate the street’s history of gender-based violence to mark the first official Ok\u00eesikow (Angel) Way Day. While the local Indigenous community has always celebrated Ok\u00eesikow (Angel) Way Day, this year, Mayor Amarjeet Sohi declared June 14, 2023, Ok\u00eesikow (Angel)…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":102,"featured_media":160689,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[57,219,16830],"tags":[8790,8603,980,25783,27153],"radio":[9847],"origine":[268,267,228],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160686"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/102"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160686"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160686\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":162179,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160686\/revisions\/162179"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160686"},{"taxonomy":"radio","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/radio?post=160686"},{"taxonomy":"origine","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/origine?post=160686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}