A designer is seeing the fruits of his labour at a new Assiniboine Park attraction.

Set to be a multi-seasonal outdoor attraction, Gardens at the Leaf is opening its outdoor garden Friday. This includes its Indigenous Peoples Gardens, which David Thomas was one of the designers for.

"First Nation design is still something that is happening now. There is a lot of growth that has to happen and I hope that when people walk through this project that they see First Nations people in a different light," Thomas says.

Thomas' parents are residential school Survivors. He is from Peguis First Nation. When he was a child, his mother would take him to the Assiniboine Park across from their house, and to a park beside the Assiniboia Indian Residential School. Thomas, joined by his own daughter and many others, returned to the park to help create the Indigenous Peoples Garden.

"There was this connection I had to the area as a kid and my mom really nurtured the artistic part of my life."

The five-year journey humbled Thomas as he learned to decolonize his design training with the help of knowledge keepers. They instructed him to work with women, balancing the male "macho" perspective.

"That changed everything. Ultimately, it changed me and how I do design. It opened my eyes to the female perspective."

He says this was the biggest thing he learned during the project, especially with the help of his daughter. On Friday morning he returned to the finished garden.

"I really see it as a product of my mother's strength," Thomas says. "When I walk through there I see it stripped down in my mind to strength and wisdom, and seeing the future and the possibilities in a positive way of what the next generation can become when they are nurtured."

Thomas has hopes for the garden to be a place for people to come and understand more about First Nation culture.

"We see the excellence, the technology, and the skill set that we have in our community and appreciate that we have something to contribute in the public realm, as well as that we are on Indigenous land. We are all partakers in the treaties." 

The park sits on the Nakota people's territory. Thomas explains that Assiniboine is the Cree word for Nakota, meaning people who cook on stones. The Leaf at the Garden fittingly has a kitchen garden as part of its outdoor space.