Indigenous Success Stories: First Nations

Design captures ‘intellectual, emotional, spiritual and physical aspects of war,’ says veterans minister

CBC News: The federal government has selected an Indigenous artist’s design concept for a planned national monument to Canada’s mission in Afghanistan.

Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay announced Monday that Adrian Stimson‘s design won out after many rounds of consultations with the public and stakeholders. He said veterans influenced the choice of final design. 

• Veterans Affairs asks for public feedback on Canada’s Afghan war monument
• Veterans Affairs seeks public input on monument for Afghanistan mission

Stimson is a member of the Siksika First Nation in southern Alberta and a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces who served at CFB Esquimalt.  Stimson was sent to Afghanistan through the Canadian Forces Artist Program. He said he tried to capture what he and other Canadians were experiencing in Afghanistan through his art.

WATCH | Stimson explains how his experience inspired monument design:

Stimson’s design for the monument “draws on elements of healing from the Medicine Wheel and takes the form of a circular, sacred space of safety, a home base of reflection, memory and contemplation,” says the press release. 

“It is made up of four portals, where an interior area is the sanctuary where the fallen are remembered. Inscribed on the walls of three of the quadrants is the year, names of the fallen and maple leaves, in several rows. The fourth southeast quadrant wall facing the direction of Afghanistan is dedicated to fallen Afghan allies. In the centre, four bronze flak jackets stand draped on crosses — utilitarian yet poignant reminders of protection.”

“Team Stimson’s design captures the intellectual, emotional, spiritual and physical aspects of war, from both Canadian and Afghan perspectives,” said MacAulay.

Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) said the monument will recognize “an important chapter in Canada’s history and pay tribute to the commitment and sacrifice of Canadians in helping to rebuild Afghanistan.”

Canada joined the mission in Afghanistan in October 2001 and continued to support military efforts there until March 2014. More than 40,000 Canadian Armed Forces members served in Afghanistan and 159 were killed on missions in theatre during the 13-year operation.

Stimson’s design favoured by public

The monument will be built on the LeBreton Flats in Ottawa, near the Canadian War Museum and the National Holocaust Monument. Consultations on the monument began in January 2020.

According to a Veterans Affairs report, the first phase was an open, online consultation on the objectives, visitor experience and form and character of the monument. This phase received 4,056 responses from across the country –  including some from veterans and their family members.

The second phase of the consultation process consisted of two in-person meetings with stakeholder groups in February 2020. Representatives of the VAC Ministerial Commemoration Advisory Group, Pikwàkanagàn First Nation and Kitigan Zibi Anishinābeg First Nation attended these meetings. 

The report said stakeholders agreed “that expressing Canada’s deep gratitude for the sacrifices made by Canadians who served in Afghanistan should be the most important objective of the Monument.”

• Families, former commanders urge open access to rebuilt Afghan war memorial
• ‘What they did was noble’: Soldiers who died in Afghanistan remembered at re-dedication of memorial

In May 2021, the federal government asked the public to weigh in again through an online survey, this time on five design proposals selected by a jury. According to the press release, Team Stimson’s concept was a favourite during this part of the consultation process, receiving between 52 and 62 per cent support from over 10,000 responses. 

Next steps in the process of creating the monument will involve a detailed development of the selected design and then construction. VAC said it does not have an anticipated start date for construction but expects it to happen “as soon as possible.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jessica Mundie

CBC Journalist, Jessica Mundie is a journalist with CBC News in Ottawa. She was previously the Michelle Lang Fellow at the National Post. Reach her by email jessica.mundie@cbc.ca and on Twitter @jessicamundiee. 

With files from Murray Brewster

As of November, 2021 Winnipeg (2014), Edmonton (2017), Whitehorse (2018), Toronto (2019) and Regina (2021) have either installed or are in the process of installing a Residential School Monument 

May 26, 2014: CBC – A monument to honour those who attended residential schools in Canada was unveiled on Monday near the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. The monument gift from David Bohn of Larsen Memorials and a member of St. Paul’s Anglican Church.

July 12, 2017 – City officials announced that a public memorial will be built in Edmonton. Oct. 11, 2018 – A monument was unveiled in Whitehorse Yukon by Teslin Tlingit artist Artist Ken Anderson. The end product includes nine wooden stools in a circular formation on a concrete block, around an etching of the former school. The nine stools represent the language groups of the students who attended the Whitehorse Indian Mission School. Each stool is made from local wood. 

Oct. 9-11, 2019 – The celebration aims to create awareness of the IRSS Legacy Project, led by Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre in collaboration with the City of Toronto. The project, to be permanently featured on Nathan Phillips Square, is anticipated to be completed in 2022. This public space initiative will consist of a 6-foot (two metre) turtle sculpture called the “Restoration of Identity sculpture” and a “Teaching, Learning and Sharing and Healing space”. Designed by Anishinaabe artist Solomon King, the sculpture will be a giant turtle climbing over a boulder, representing the struggles experienced by residential school survivors and their continued resilience. The tiles on the back of the turtle will represent the different nations and clans within the province. The sculpture is also a reflection of the Turtle Island creation story. 

Jan. 27, 2021 – Saskatchewan announced plans to build a Residential School monument at Government House in Regina. On Sept. 30, 2021 (Global News) the design plans were unveiled: The memorial design will be circular, symbolizing the cycles and seasons of life. It will include benches made from reclaimed elm wood.

Saskatchewan plants and trees will be planted throughout the design. At the centre of the memorial, a large natural stone will depict the province and the locations of each former residential school. The stone will face east toward the sunrise, which signifies hope. A smudge bowl will also be installed in the front of the stone for ceremonial purposes.

CBC –  Jesse Wente, a prominent advocate for an increased presence of Indigenous voices in Canada’s cultural landscape, has been appointed chairperson of the Canada Council for the Arts, for a five-year term.

Wente, an Anishinaabe writer, broadcaster and speaker, has held high-profile roles in Canada’s arts communities, including executive director of the industry-led Indigenous Screen Office.

Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault says Wente is the first Indigenous chairperson of an organization within his federal portfolio.

July 28, 2020: Globe and Mail –  His appointment, Mr. Wente said, is an example of the Canada Council for the Arts doing what other arts organizations must: elevate Indigenous voices.

Arts and culture are meant to help shape national identity and the national discourse, he said, and can play a role in achieving more inclusion and equity throughout the country.

“All my work comes down to how to achieve those things,” he said.