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Indigenous people were always in Saint John — this is a reminder

August 4, 2024

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Pair tie red cloth around posts in uptown Saint John 

Two people dressed in colourful, ankle-length clothing stand together in a grassy park.
Possesom Paul (left) and Drae Aluk Stevens tied pieces of red cotton around streetlights and on fences in Saint John. (Ann Paul/CBC)

This is part of a series called Ann’s Eye, featuring the work of Ann Paul, a Wolastoqey content creator. You can see more Ann’s Eye pieces by clicking here.

CBC Indigenous: In July, Possesom Paul of Sitansisk First Nation and Drae Aluk Stevens of Oromocto First Nation teamed up to tie pieces of red cotton around fence posts and street lamps in uptown Saint John. 

“It’s to to remind people that this is the land where we come from,” Paul said. “That’s what the red cloth is for.”

Ann Paul covered the event for CBC News. Scroll through the photos and watch the video to see what she saw.

Why you’re seeing red ties in uptown Saint John

WATCH | Possesom Paul and Drae Stevens explain the meaning of the red ties: 2 days ago, l Duration 1:20

Possesom Paul and Drae Aluk Stevens teamed up to place sacred ties throughout uptown Saint John as a reminder that Indigenous people lived in the region long before colonization.

Click on the following link to view the video:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/anns-eye-saint-john-red-ties-1.7282326

A red piece of cotton is tied around a post.
There’s no reserve in Saint John, but Ann Paul says Indigenous people were always there, using the region as a gathering and meeting place before colonizers arrived. ‘But our people were there because that’s where the water met the ocean, where the Wolastoq met the ocean,’ she says. (Ann Paul/CBC)
Two people dressed in colourful, ankle-length garments run down a sidewalk.
Possesom Paul and Drae Aluk Stevens ran in between tie placements to create a sense of urgency and get people’s attention. (Ann Paul/CBC)
A group of people dressed in red stand with their arms stretched upward in dance in a grassy park.
Connection Dance Works, a contemporary dance company in Saint John, helped organize the event. (Ann Paul/CBC)
A person wearing a black baseball cap and colourful, ankle-length clothing ties a red cloth around a blue street lamp.
Possesom Paul and Drae Aluk Stevens wore grass dance outfits because they’re grass dancers. (Ann Paul/CBC)
Two people dressed in colourful clothing stand at a short distance from each other, tying red cotton to a black fence.
Indigenous political music played from the backpack, Ann Paul says. (Ann Paul/CBC)
Ann’s Eye

Photographer Ann Paul brings an Indigenous lens to stories from First Nations communities across New Brunswick. Click here or on the image below to see more of her work. 

A graphic drawing shows an Indigenous woman holding a camera up to her eye.
(CBC News Graphics)
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