MJMAG and Sadi-Rose Vaxvick recipients of Excellence in Saskatchewan Museum Award of Merit

The Museums Association of Saskatchewan presented the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery and Sadi-Rose Vaxvick with the Excellence in Saskatchewan Museum Award of Merit at the 2026 Lieutenant Governor’s Heritage Awards.

The award presentation took place on June 24th at Government House in Regina where Her Honour the Honourable Bernadette McIntyre, Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan and Heritage Saskatchewan’s honorary patron, presented the awards.

The Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery (MJMAG) has long played an active role in shaping community dialogue about culture and history, but over the past two years, has boldly confronted the limitations of the typical museum standards. Through the fruitful partnership with artist and curator Sadi-Rose Vaxvick, a member of Ochapowace First Nation, MJMAG reimagined the ways in which stories about Indigenous history are told in the new môso-tâpiskan exhibit in the museum gallery space, and reconsidered the ways the museum exercises stewardship over Indigenous belongings. They did this by firstly, centering the traditions of Indigenous-held cultural perspectives carried by Elders, Knowledge-keepers and Artists, as vital insights to understanding that complex history and its present effects. Then, by paying homage to the millennia-deep lineages of artistic and cultural legacies that exist in Saskatchewan, and acknowledging the breadth of cultural and ethnic diversity that the province has always had, a more nuanced and sophisticated portrayal of that deep history was made in the gallery, rooted in culturally-informed and culturally-sensitive perspectives. And lastly, in reconsidering the role of museum stewardship, MJMAG actively engaged in repatriation negotiations, to liberate key sacred belongings.

This innovative process affected board rooms and studio spaces, and also unfolded out on the land, in ceremony. We applaud the courage of MJMAG staff and supporters, for being willing to pause the status quo, to reconsider what role a museum plays, and ought to play, in dialogue with Indigenous partners, and then stepping forward on a different footing towards a brighter horizon.