The Spirit Of Manitoba Card H |

This art card features Heather Endall's original painting and comes complete with an envelope

About the Artist

Heather Endall is a Cree woman from Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation and a proud Canadian artist. She explores her creative talents and personal identity through diverse, tactile expression — weaving Indigenous storytelling and lived experience into every piece.

Heather Endall's original painting and comes complete with an envelope

"The Spirit of Manitoba" - Acrylic on canvas, original size 24x24"

This painting was commissioned by the mother of one of my best childhood friends! Her son had recently moved to Switzerland, and she wanted images that would remind him of the prairies. Having spent time with their family at Minnedosa Lake (and having family roots in Minnedosa myself!) there were so many animals, flowers and other symbols of the prairies that came to mind.

The wild tiger lilies and crocus flowers were favourites of my grandmother. The hidden Monarch Butterfly floating across the "big prairie sky", the majestic moose, Canada goose, wolf, bison and painted turtle were some of the creatures that I had fond memories of seeing growing up in the Manitoba prairie region. Of course, I had to include the red grain elevator which is something that is rarely seen nowadays. The braid of sweetgrass (a fragrance which instantly takes me home, and is symbolic of my Cree heritage and teachings) and the northern lights and treeline behind the wolf remind me of cold winter nights where the landscape seems to be infinite. The polar bear profile against the snow and ice blocks is an important animal which flourishes in Churchill, and the Sturgeon (also known as the Stargazer, with the thirteen scales on its back for the full moon teachings) meanders through the waters reminding us of its longevity and deep history through Manitoba waters.