An iconic monument in Prince Albert is set to be torn down, for safety’s sake.
The totem pole that has long graced the banks of the North Saskatchewan River has to be torn down because it’s damaged and portions are rotting, according to the city’s arts and culture co-ordinator Judy MacLeod Campbell.
The city was unsure of how to proceed, and took a reconciliation-based approach when it conducted consultations with Indigenous groups in Western Canada to learn the proper protocol around removing totem poles.
“The first thing that we learned … is that what’s important is to go back to the carver and it’s up to the carver in terms of what types of restoration work or maintenance work that’s done,” MacLeod Campbell said.
The city’s quest to find the men responsible for carving the totem pole wasn’t easy.
The totem pole in question was given to the city in 1975 by two inmates from the Saskatchewan Penitentiary.
James Sutherland, from Winnipeg, was the man who carved the totem pole, with the help of Dale Stonechild, who was his assistant in the process.
According to MacLeod Campbell, the city tried to track Sutherland down, but learned the man has since died.
The city was unable to locate any next of kin and Stonechild also could not be located, according to MacLeod Campbell.
She said protocol dictated that the local Indigenous community decide the fate of the totem pole.
The city turned to the Prince Albert Historical Society’s Knowledge Keepers, a group of Indigenous elders.
“What was determined here, [unanimously], by our knowledge keepers, was to remove the pole and have it laid to rest,” MacLeod Campbell said.
She said elders at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary didn’t want the pole on-site and they didn’t want anything to do with the decision-making process because it’s out of the scope of their traditional practices and protocol.
Plans to replace with more local-centric Indigenous art
MacLeod Campbell said after the Knowledge Keepers unanimously decided to lay the pole to rest, they asked the City of Prince Albert to replace it with art that represents the local Indigenous population in or around the same area. The city itself has a population that’s roughly 42 per cent Indigenous.
“That’s been shared with city council and our public art working group, and that will definitely be a goal of ours,” she said.
For the most part, the public has been understanding of the process, MacLeod Campbell said.
“I think there are a certain amount of people who feel sad about taking it down, but I think what we’re learning through this is that engaging in our local Indigenous community and really acting upon their wishes, I think, builds a stronger community,” she said.