Education Alumni’s Art Reflects the Teaching of Respect
Wayne Stranger with "The Buffalo"
J. Wayne Stranger (BFA Honours /06, BEd/08) was selected by a committee of U of M, Aboriginal House members to complete a bronze sculpture piece that spoke to Aboriginal ways of knowing. Stranger, a teacher at Peguis Central School, noted that, “this sculpture titled The Buffalo reflects the nature of what it is to learn. ‘Ki-ken-das-o-win’, meaning knowledge, or the accumulation of knowledge, which must be acquired with discipline out of respect for the ways of the Elders and teachers, and how teaching and learning occurred in our past as First Nations.”
The notion of respect is significant to Stranger because, “respect is one of the 7 Sacred Teachings, and respect towards others needs to come first for learning to happen.”
This work was inspired by Stranger’s ceremony experiences where he was guided to the concept of this sculpture. The two buffalo seem to rise like smoke from the prominent base of the sculpture that was designed to represent the hoof of the buffalo. The space in the hoof welcomes viewers to enter and engage with the work.
The Buffalo was officially unveiled at the Aboriginal House on the University of Manitoba Fort Garry Campus on Monday, April 4th, 2011 at 1:00 pm.