June 2025 - Manitoba Museum

Posted on: Tuesday June 17, 2025

A round view into blue covered in stars. Overlaid text reads,

Join us for the Premiere of Wilfred Buck’s Star Stories Planetarium Show

Treaty No. 1 Territory, Winnipeg, Manitoba (June 17, 2025) – The Manitoba Museum invites members of the media to join us for the premiere of a brand-new Planetarium show, Wilfred Buck’s Star Stories. Wilfred Buck is an Ininew (Cree) writer, educator and one of the foremost experts on Indigenous star knowledge.

PREMIERE DETAILS

Date: Friday, June 20, 2025

Time: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Location: Manitoba Museum Planetarium, 190 Rupert Avenue, Winnipeg

Q&A Panel: Wilfred Buck, Director Lisa Jackson, Planetarium Astronomer Scott Young

Please RSVP to: BHayberg@ManitobaMuseum.ca

Designed for presentation in domes and planetariums, this 21-minute XR work, directed by Lisa Jackson and the Macronauts, brings to life four star stories, gathered and told by renowned Ininew astronomer/star knowledge expert and author Wilfred Buck. From the practical to the poetic, these tellings of the Northern night sky provide guidance on navigation, the earth’s cycles, and how to live a good life with future generations in mind.

“Wilfred Buck’s Star Stories aims to preserve the oral tradition of the Ininew, much of which was lost through colonization and the residential school systems. Wilfred Buck has painstaking collected these tellings and presented them to share with audiences. It’s a way for the people of Manitoba to learn the sky as seen and interpreted by the original people of Manitoba.” – Scott Young, Manitoba Museum Planetarium Astronomer.

Wilfred Buck’s Star Stories offers a rarely heard perspective on astronomy and cosmology. Marvel at immersive night sky cinematography, cosmos CGI, and beautiful macro cinematography of meteorites set to a transporting soundtrack in this expansive yet intimate experience that combines the wonder of the universe with the warmth of listening to a wise Elder whose teachings can help us understand that the stars are in fact our oldest relatives.

“This show is design to be as authentic as possible. It is written and narrated by Wilfred himself, and visualized using artwork drawn by his son, Mistawasis Buck. You feel like you are being included in the telling, which isn’t just about the stars, it’s about life. It’s as relevant today as it was generations ago, because the core of the stories are human truths.” – Scott Young, Manitoba Museum Planetarium Astronomer.

Wilfred Buck’s Star Stories will be running daily throughout the summer at the Manitoba Museum Planetarium starting June 28, 2025. Visit ManitobaMuseum.ca/Planetarium for planetarium schedules.

View the Wilfred Buck’s Star Stories Press Kit.

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To RSVP or request interviews, please contact:

Brandi Hayberg

Manager of Marketing & Communications
Manitoba Museum
BHayberg@ManitobaMuseum.ca | 204.988.0614

Posted on: Friday June 13, 2025

by Lucy Lindell, Manitoba Museum Indigenous Scholar in Residence

Opening June 20, the day before National Indigenous Peoples Day, my solo exhibit I Belong Here will be on display in the Manitoba Museum’s Urban Corridor. Through digital art prints, the physical structures of local museums and galleries are transformed into Indigenous teachings that exist to help us live a good life.

This exhibit comes from an in-scholar residence at the Museum with Dr. Amelia Fay, Curator of Anthropology and the HBC Museum Collection. We focused on repatriation and safe museum spaces for Indigenous items.

Previous to the residency, in a cultural leadership course with Stephen Borys, I gained an understanding that historically, museum foundations were built on elitism and were meant to be an escape or distraction to bring temporary moments of freedom.

As a Métis woman learning traditional culture, my museum experiences were quite different; my visits were a time of healing and learning about my relations to Creation. Creation includes all life forms and their energies.

A digital artwork featuring a female figure wearing a shawl designed to look like the Canadian Museum of Human Rights building. Behind the figure colourful ribbons hang from the branches of green-leaved trees.

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights transforms into a shawl worn by a sundance ceremony helper. ©Lucy Lindell

The Manitoba Museum transforms into a representation of a sweat lodge; the mother’s womb. ©Lucy Lindell

The WAG-Qaumajuq transforms into traditional Indigenous ceremony. ©Lucy Lindell

Respectful relations to Creation continue to be harmed through colonial histories where identities were built by taking from others and going to extreme lengths to receive access to land and resources. This impacts identity, understandings of purpose, and how we think day-to-day.

I Belong Here removes colonial invalidations by sharing relatedness and ways of knowing that not everyone has had the privilege of experiencing. It shares teachings that reflect our own beauty back to us and affirms that Indigenous teachings belong in museum spaces and everyday life.

A special thank you to Dr. Amelia Fay, Dan Thomas, and the Manitoba Museum for working with me on this project.

I Belong Here will open on June 20 in the Manitoba Museum’s Urban Corridor and will be on display throughout the summer. Admission to this temporary exhibit is included in an All Attraction Pass. Manitoba Museum Members and Indigenous Peoples can access this exhibit at no charge.

Plan your visit today