An Okanese First Nation woman will soon be coming to Prince Albert to take home the totem pole her brother once helped carve and paint almost 45 years ago.
Darlene Stonechild is the sister of Dale Stonechild, one of two men who created the more than 30-foot high totem pole that has graced the banks of the North Saskatchewan River in the city since the mid-1970s.
Now in serious decay and posing a safety risk, the totem pole needs to be moved and Darlene says she wants to make sure it is preserved in her home community for future generations to see.
“I take great pride in my brother’s artwork and his ability to do and show it off,” she says.
Her brother Dale and James Sutherland created the totem pole while both were inmates at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary.
Sutherland has since passed on and Dale is currently incarcerated in B.C.
She says it is important to remember the totem pole was done in appreciation of what the people of the city had done for them and other inmates at the time.
“For them, in the penitentiary, there was nothing there (in terms of programming). Whereas the citizens of Prince Albert would come into the penitentiary, they would share their food, have picnics, have barbecues, play soccer, ball, volleyball, play cards with the inmates.”
Darlene says she and other family members plan to come to Prince Albert in early September to move the totem pole down to the Okanese First Nation, which is located near Fort Qu’Appelle, on a flatbed truck.
(PHOTO: Courtesy Prince Albert Historical Society.)