College of Pharmacy honours Indigenous knowledge through art

“I have no words for how beautiful this is,” an emotional Chantal Daniels said, looking at a colourful new mural that celebrates Indigenous understandings of healing and health in the Apotex Centre on the Bannatyne campus. 

Daniels, director of Ongomiizwin – Education at the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, was among those in attendance for the official unveiling of the mural, located on the main floor of the building, across from Steele’s Apothecary, on November 4. 

The installation, titled Good Medicine, measures eight-and-a-half feet tall (2.59 meters) by 39 feet wide (11.88 meters). 

The artwork was created by Justine Proulx, a Winnipeg-based Métis artist with Ojibwe and Cree roots, who has created nearly 50 large murals and art installations in Winnipeg hospitals, schools and public spaces, including the exterior wall at the RBC Convention Centre. She is also a tattoo artist and taxidermist. 

The work was installed by Valerii Pasko of Iqonic Design, using laminated matte vinyl panels that took four hours to install.   

“I work with him often to do installations in places like this, where it’s not always practical for me to hand-paint,” Proulx said. 

Dr. Lavern Vercaigne, professor at the College of Pharmacy, had the idea for a mural in the building when he was acting dean in May 2025. At the unveiling, he thanked Proulx and Pasko for making the wall “come alive.” He also acknowledged the support of the college’s leadership team, including dean Dr. Hope Anderson, her office staff and the Indigenous health advisory committee.  

“It was very important for us to have a welcoming environment for Indigenous staff, faculty and students within our building. It’s also a reminder to all of us about our commitment to reconciliation, and to act on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action,” Vercaigne said. 

Indigenous perspective of medicine and pharmacy 

Proulx began meeting with representatives of the College of Pharmacy in June 2025 to determine the elements they wanted to embrace, including themes of holistic medicine and pharmacy through an Indigenous perspective. 

Like her other murals, she used a Woodland art style to convey the connection between spirit, animals, nature and people.  

Proulx said the main inspiration behind the work was the medicine wheel, a healing framework used in many Indigenous cultures that symbolizes four aspects of well‑being: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. 

“Everything is to do with the wheel,” she said. “The mural is sectioned in the four quadrants. It goes kind of subtly from spring to winter, night and day, all those aspects of balance and continuity.” 

Proulx said the mural honours longstanding Indigenous knowledge and how that relates to western medicine.  

“Pharmacy plays an essential role in caring for our health, while Indigenous teachings remind us to also care for our mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. This mural invites us to reflect on what it truly means to care for ourselves and one another,” she said. 

“When balance is restored within ourselves and our communities, we create space for true wellness to flourish.” 

See a social media reel from the unveiling of the artwork.