Maple Leaf: Floor Space and Immigrant Squares

maple leaf: Made of 263 blocks, standing ten feet high and covering 120 feet of floor space, it is magnificent, breathtaking, and stirs a flood of emotion that is surprisingly overwhelming and quite difficult to suppress, according to Rabble. The 70 blocks allotted to embody the founding First Nation, Inuit, and Metis nations cradle and support a cacophony of immigrant squares. It's the culmination of Esther Bryan's dream to find a way to celebrate our common humanity while showcasing the uniqueness of Indigenous peoples and settlers who live side by side, like just the squares that comprise the quilt. Centre top of the quilt is home to a red velvet square sparsely decorated with iridescent gold beading and gold thread fashioning a stylized maple leaf. One can't help but admire the six Inuit squares made from traditional materials depicting scenes and symbols from traditional Northern life. The top of the quilt has been left unfinished in recognition that Canada, as a nation and a people, remains a work in progress. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.