The vision for an ongoing project honouring First Nations heritage and culture through the pages of colouring books was sparked by a dream.

And for Diana Frost, whose Metis heritage comes from her mother's side, that dream led to the idea for the Colouring It Forward series of books, two of which have already been published, with two more in the works.

Frost will be in Okotoks Thursday speaking about Colouring It Forward at Lineham House Galleries on Elma Street.

The two colouring books published to date have featured the Blackfoot Nation and the Northern Dene Nation, with some of the proceeds supporting indigenous community programs.

Frost points out that the books showcase the work of indigenous artists, and the wisdom and guidance of elders from each nation is also woven into the pages.

"It just came to me in a dream that I should make this series of colouring books and I should work with elders and with artists on each of the books," she explains. "And that the books should be a way for people to learn a little bit more about the different cultures and the spirituality and the values and learn all the beautiful things that we can learn from our elders."

The right side of each page features art depicting various aspects of First Nations culture and heritage, including warriors, horses, bears, dancing children and elders, that can be coloured, Frost says. The left side of the page features a write-up from the perspective of an elder. There are also blank lines underneath so that people can write down their own meditations or thoughts.

The next two books planned for the series will be on the Cree Nation and the Anishinabe, Frost says. She hopes that the art on the pages will help provide insight into the beauty of indigenous culture and values and adds that her desire to highlight that contributed to her motivation for creating the series.  

"I think that there's a lot of terrible things that are happening, and have happened, to native people in this country," she says. "And I think that we have the opportunity to learn about that through the media and through books and different literary pieces. But there's not a lot of ways for the average person to learn about all the wonderful things that First Nations can offer.

"I think that in order for reconciliation to happen, people should learn both sides of the coin," she adds. "They should learn the wonderful things and they also should learn the terrible things. If they don't learn any of the wonderful things, then I think reconciliation will be difficult because it will be coming from a place of pain, of negativity and of shame or guilt. I think that actually reconciliation needs to come from a place of love, a place of appreciation, a place of respect."

Frost will be speaking at Lineham House Galleries in Okotoks on Thursday, December 21, starting at 7 p.m. Colouring It Forward colouring books, calendars, and Christmas cards will be available.

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