Here is a quick shot of the finished sculpture so people can see. We will give an update in the next day or so with details about the event, which was extremely successful. The mood was extremely positive and the Ktunaxa were very gracious. We are honoured to have been part of this project, and our hope is that the sculpture continues to be a symbol of reconciliation for a long time into the future.
Here are a couple of links to articles about the unveiling in the Kootenay News Advertiser and the Cranbrook Daily Townsman.
Also, there were a few people who were interested in having the text to our speech yesterday, so here is the full transcription:
The first thing I want to say is that this moment constitutes the realization of a dream for us. For the last 5 years Paul and I have talked about, planned, drawn, driven all over western Canada to workshops, sent proposals, and dreamed about creating some large-scale public art. This Reconciliation Sculpture is the first project in which Paul and I have truly acted as a team from idea to installation and from my perspective it has been a complete success on many levels. For any artist who has stood and stared at Bill Reid’s ‘Spirit of Haida Gwaii’ in the Vancouver International Airport, having their own sculpture of this scale in a location as prominent and prestigious as an international airport is a true honour. Having a sculpture that has as much meaning as this one does to us, in a prominent spot in our own community is equally significant.
I also want to say that a sculpture of this scale doesn’t happen in two months with just two people involved. I want to recognize the many skilled craftsmen at Reimer & Co. Architectural Blacksmiths that did the lion’s share of the work on the sculpture. A rough tally has about 1800 person-hours on the sculpture since mid-April, and so Paul and I want to acknowledge the skilled work of Alex Marriott, Josh Fennema, Paul Fennema, Tim Dyck, and Arthur McRae. Each one of these gentlemen worked tirelessly and diligently even though there were a couple of picky artists hovering over them all the time. They truly are artists in their own right, and we were privileged to have them all on the team for this project.
I also want to thank my staff at Bluebeetle Creative who endured my disappearing every morning for two months and returning to the office covered in soot and grime, and left more work fall to them than they should have borne. And to my clients, some of whom are here today, thank you for your patience as I pursued this important project and did my best to make sure all your work got done also.
There needs to be a hearty thanks to the wives of the blacksmiths, the ‘Blacksmith Widows’ as we have taken to calling them, who weathered the long, lonely evenings and early mornings of their husbands to make this sculpture happen. Without their support and patience this sculpture would never have been completed on time. For finding the finances to make this happen, we are indebted to Scott Manjak, the City of Cranbrook, and all the donors who have contributed financially to this project. BC Hydro, Terasen, the RDEK, the Columbia Basin Trust, the Vancouver Airport Authority, Cranbrook Rotary, and Falkins Insurance all were significant to the project. Wise technical help was provided by the crew of Cranbrook Public Works. Without Westy and his team we would not have a proper engineered, perfectly poured foundation for the sculpture. Nor would there be lights wired and working, or river rock piled around. Thank you guys for supporting us in every way.
Lastly, I would like to thank the Elders of the St. Mary’s Band of the Ktunaxa Nation. Without your approval, and agreement, this project would have never gone ahead. You can’t know how honoured we feel to be entrusted by you with this message of Reconciliation. It is our hope that this too is a symbol of goodwill and hope to you as well as to us as we move forward together.
This sculpture represents a significant point for us on many levels. The research, the reading, the measuring, the digging through archival photos, and all the turning of ideas in our heads, drawings, meetings, and all that forging of iron into these shapes, has brought us to a greater understanding of the issues that surround interactions western culture has had on the First Nations people of Canada. It has also brought us to a greater understanding of the need for our cultures to hear one another, to learn from one another, and to help heal the hurts of the not too distant past.
I confess that I, like many of us living on this land, hadn’t thought a lot about the people that walked the Columbia Valley hundreds and thousands of years ago. I have carried a shapeless burden in the knowledge that my ancestors, and my culture, have been the cause of a thousand hurts in a thousand lives. We have taken land, children, and lives without respect. We have made grave errors in judgement, and harboured prejudices and stereotypes of cultural issues brought on by the grief of a people that before contact with the white man arrived, had dignity and wisdom, and despite our mistakes continues to be a wise and dignified people.
I have felt shame for that burden, but have not been able to answer, even to myself, what do I do to fix it? How do we move forward without forgetting the errors of the past? We cannot change the past. The journey of designing and building this sculpture has helped me to see that there really is only one way to move forward; we have to allow ourselves to reconcile with one another.
To the Ktunaxa, and other first nations people in Canada, Paul and I, on behalf of our community, offer a sincere apology for the atrocities that were committed by our ancestors in the name of progress and often in the name of God. As much as we would like to, we cannot now take these actions back. Those of us who are of european descent, we have a task ahead of us. It is our debt to pay now to do our best, bit by bit, to undo the stereotypes and prejudices we have been brought up in. It is our debt to work towards being able look every person in the eye and attempt to see the true person regardless of skin colour or culture.
Of the Ktunaxa, we ask with humility that you would do you best, bit by bit, to allow yourselves to forgive us for the errors of our past, and the struggles of our present. Help us to see what we can do, teach us about your culture so we too can learn and value the wisdom you carry, and we will do our best to show you our true selves. If we are to have a peaceful future with together, we not only need to see who you are, but we need to be seen for who we are; human, open, and willing.
It is with this dream, this goal in mind that we; Paul and I; along with our community, offer this sculpture, at this point in our history, to the Ktunaxa people as a token of our gratitude; as a gift of peace and hope for a future that has our cultures walking together and sharing in the jubilee of reconciliation. We can never truly replace what was lost to your people, but with your help I hope we can learn to work together to heal some of the scars and suture some of the open wounds.
Thank you.
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Below is a gallery of photos from the event. Many of the photos of the crowd at the unveiling were taken by Sally Passey.
Paul and I have been working on a new sculpture idea. The concept comes from the ancient text “They shall forge their swords into ploughshares”. Our thought is that Canada has been a nation of peacekeepers for decades, and our influence has had a significant part in many nations’ histories. From Korea to Bosnia to the more recent Afghanistan, our soldiers can be found doing their best to encourage the world to put down their arms.
