A new sidewalk mural is available for people to view by the NexSource Centre.
The image, which is a depiction of a medicine wheel contains many meanings all in one and was painted by local Indigenous Knowledge Keeper Clare Butterfly.
In each segment of the medicine wheel, a different colour, animal, and landmark centered around Sylvan Lake can be seen.
The white part of the wheel represents the north, Butterfly said.
"With the north, the squiggly lines (waves) I made purposefully squiggly like snakes as the Cree name for Sylvan Lake was 'Kinepikoh Sakihikan,' Snake Lake. Then the buffalo represents respect in Cree and Ojibwe cultures."
The hills in the background of the north segment can be seen directly across the lake, he added.
"Those are the Medicine Hills that Cree Chief Maskepetoon had a vision up on the tallest one telling him to not go to war anymore."
In the west coloured in blue and black, the Bear represents courage and bravery, Butterfly said.
In Cree west means 'Paksimotah-ocek' which translates to where the sun goes down which is why the depiction of the sun setting over the Medicine River can be seen in that part of the image.
"From the west, the Medicine River then flows south into the Red Deer River," he added.
In the south quadrant, which is painted in red in Cree, the saying is 'Apitah Kisikaw', which translates to the middle of the day.
"The Elk in the south represents the Red Deer River or in Cree 'Weyaskasoo Sipi' which translates to Elk River," Butterfly said.
In the east, painted in yellow, there is an old Indigenous trail that is thousands of years old.
"It almost is along the lines of the 2A highway and then the trail goes up through the Medicine Hills again and all the way north to the Edmonton area," he said.
The Trail is called Ekote Muhekan Ek Ke Pimohtet in Cree and it means where the wolf has walked.
Before creating the piece Butterfly knew he wanted to create something that represented the artwork done on tipis.
"The paintings and the pictures are to tell a story and that's what I wanted here," he said.
For Butterfly, coming up with the design was the easy part, and getting it painted proved more difficult.
"To come up with the design took me about ten minutes, to paint it took me about a week. It is a simple design, but it took a lot of care to make it look good."
Due to the weather being so hot it also slowed down the process, he said.
"My paint was gelling while I was painting and I had to come back later in the day to finish it off. When I finished it off I finished it at around 11 p.m. because it was just so hot in the day."
When people look on it there are many things they can take away, Butterfly said.
"What I want people to see is this land we are on has been used for as long as the Indigenous people have been on this continent and these places around Sylvan Lake are not just a part of history they are still here."
Mayor Megan Hanson said that the town of Sylvan Lake was very excited about how the piece turned out.
"We are excited to showcase this beautiful medicine wheel, made by Clare Butterfly, our local Indigenous knowledge keeper. This artwork enriches our community and reminds us of the important cultural roots and values of this land through its vibrant display of colour."
