On September 4th, 2025, The Royal Canadian Mint officially released a commemorative $2 circulation coin honouring the extraordinary life and work of Daphne Odjig. This is quite the significant milestone, as this makes Daphne Odjig the first First Nations woman artist to have some of their work featured on a Canadian Coin!
Who was Daphne Odjig?
Daphne Odjig was born on September 11, 1919 and raised on the Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory, Manitoulin Island, and passed away in Kelowna BC on October 1, 2016 at the age of 97. Hers was an artistic family – a father who sketched, a mother who stitched, and a grandfather who was a stone -carver – which provided Daphne with the foundation to develop her own creative passions.
Growing up during a period in Canadian history when many traditional cultural practices were legally prohibited, she was mentored in art and culture by her grandfather. Daphne spent much of her early adulthood roaming The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto and teaching herself how to paint amongst the hallways lined with the works of Picasso and the Impressionists. Her evolving artistic mediums and styles show a timeline of Daphne’s lived experiences and her connection to her cultural identity.
Often described as a “creative force for change,” Odjig’s legacy continues to inspire generations of artists. Her unique style blended traditional Indigenous imagery with modernist influences, creating a visual language that spoke truth to the Indigenous experience in Canada.
The Art on the Coin
The vibrant and colourful $2 coin features one of Odjig’s most powerful works from 1977, titled The Folk Singer. The design captures her vibrant use of colour and thin, flowing lines and depicts a woman holding a drum and was specifically chosen to honour her status as a transformative figure in Canadian culture. The drum, representing the heartbeat of the community in Anishinaabe culture, can be seen as a visual metaphor of resilience and keeping Indigenous history alive.
A subtle but deeply meaningful detail can be found on the coin’s outer rim: a stylized drawing of a fisher. By 1964, Daphne Odjig had been calling herself “Daphne Fisher” as an attempt to hide her Indigenous identity. A fisher, being the English translation of “Odjig”, then became an image used as a signature throughout the artist’s career.
Why This Coin Matters
Daphne Odjig made a significant influence on First Nations art in Canada and laid foundations for Indigenous artists after her. She was a trailblazer and advocate – receiving awards such as the Order of Canada in 1986, Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts in 2007 and the Order of British Columbia in 2007 – who used her art to tell of the experiences, stories and viewpoints of First Nations people.
The Royal Canadian Mint created this commemorative piece to celebrate Odjig’s enduring impact as an artist and advocate. By placing her work on a circulation coin, her story and her art are brought into the daily lives of millions of Canadians.
Through this coin, Canada recognizes a woman who refused to let her culture be silenced, instead turning it into a powerful, beautiful, and lasting legacy.
