SaskatchewanYouth volunteers in the Renew Program in Regina’s North Central are painting bison murals that cover unwanted graffiti. The art pieces are located all around the neighbourhood, including in alleyways.Youth volunteers paint bison murals that cover unwanted graffitiDarla Ponace · CBC News · Posted: Oct 21, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoPaisley Paik, left, and her mother Erinn Paik stand in front of a bison mural that was painted by Erinn’s five-year-old granddaughter. Erinn says it’s great for her family to be involved in projects that help create a beautiful environment for others. (Darla Ponace/ CBC)Bison are returning, in art form, to Regina’s North Central community. The Renew Program, run out of the North Central Community Association, was created to clean up and enhance the neighbourhood. It started with community garden beds, then expanded to cleaning up back alleys to make them safer for residents. Program co-ordinator Stephen McDavid said he thought the alleyways needed something to make them more vibrant, while also acknowledging the natural ecosystems that once existed in those spaces, more than a century ago. The bison murals that are being added serve as an acknowledgement of Saskatchewan’s past. “This was a rich ecosystem at one time, and it’s one of the most devastated ecosystems on the planet,” McDavid said. Pat Faulconbridge, from left, Erinn Paik and Stephen McDavid stand in front one of the bison murals in the neighbourhood. (Darla Ponace/CBC)“It’s honouring what was here at one time, in art at least,” said McDavid. McDavid started painting murals in 2018, first on his own garage door, but the practice has spread across the neighbourhood. He said more homeowners are asking for the murals on their garage doors or fences to cover unwanted graffiti, or just to add something to their homes and yards. McDavid said youth volunteers who help out say they enjoy the sense of community that comes from making the neighbourhood brighter.“I think they feel a sense of accomplishment and achievement,” he said. Paisley Paik and her older sister volunteered this past summer to paint a bison mural together.“I like making the community more beautiful, and it just helps the community,” said Paisley, who’s 9. Paisley’s mother Erinn Paik said it’s great for her children to be involved in projects that help create a beautiful environment, as well as be engaged in their community. “I’m really proud. I’m proud of everything my kids volunteer to do to help this community,” she said. “This is just something that they can leave kind of like a legacy in the neighbourhood. It’s also really amazing that it’s right across the alley from our house, so we could see it out our window every day.”The murals are helping to create space for talking about history and the meaning of the buffalo. (Germain Wilson/ CBC)Pat Faulconbridge, executive director at the North Central Community Association, said the buffalo murals bring meaning to the community and create a space for conversations about history.“We had a knowledge keeper speaking to us … and she was talking about questions that she asked when she was younger about what happened to the buffalo, where are the buffalo,” said Faulconbridge. She said the murals seem to be engaging community members to help look after the neighbourhood. “We very seldom see any of our murals or fences that we’ve painted get unwanted graffiti put on them,” Faulconbridge said. “It’s beautifying the neighbourhood.”The next phase of the project is to add traditional Indigenous plants back into the environment, by planting seeds in front of some of the murals. ABOUT THE AUTHORDarla Ponace is a Saulteaux woman from Zagime Anishinabek First Nations. She started as an associate producer in the Indigenous Pathways program at CBC. She is currently working with CBC Saskatchewan as a reporter. You can email her at darla.ponace@cbc.ca with story ideas.
Bison return to a Regina neighbourhood, but this time as art
