A group trying to honour Canadian singer Joni Mitchell said they’re going to continue to try and find a way to pay tribute to the artist, even though she no longer wants to be involved.
The group has been trying to find a permanent home for a collection of items belonging to the singer and her mother that includes handmade dresses and scrapbooks. However, Mitchell now wants her belongings back.
In an interview with The Star Phoenix, Mitchell said previous attempts to honour her have been “laughable." Looking back on an attempt to create a museum in her name, Mitchell said in the article, "I feel like they shot themselves in the foot ... Saskatoon has always been an extremely bigoted community.”
On Wednesday, former premier Lorne Calvert, who belongs to the group looking to recognize Mitchell, said there was a miscommunication about the status of Mitchell's articles. According to Calvert, the items were already destined to go back to the singer.
As for her comments about the city, Calvert was quick to defend Saskatoon.
"This is not the Saskatoon of the 1950s; this is a considerably different community and a considerably different province. However, it never hurts to have someone from the outside looking in and we should take that,” he said.
Calvert said that regardless of Mitchell’s views, her creative spirit deserves to be honoured in Saskatoon.
The disputed items are getting set to go back to Mitchell as soon as possible, Calvert said.
