There’s been a change of plans for Prince Albert’s longstanding totem pole.
The totem pole is suffering serious decay and the city plans to remove it from its current home on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River this fall for safety reasons.
After consulting with local Indigenous stakeholders, the plan had been to move the totem pole to a cemetery near the Saskatchewan Penitentiary where it would be laid to rest.
However, after the sister of one of the original carvers reached out to the city, the totem pole will now be heading to the Okanese First Nation in southern Saskatchewan instead.
Prince Albert arts and culture coordinator Judy MacLeod Campbell says Darlene Stonechild, sister of carver Dale Stonechild, is now handling plans to move the totem pole to the family’s home community.
“You know, having talked with her and hearing the passion behind the art, you know for Dale, while it’s a changed outcome it’s still a positive one,” she says.
Stonechild and James Sutherland, the main carver, created the totem pole in the mid-1970s while both were inmates at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary and then donated it to the City of Prince Albert.
MacLeod Campbell says through its own research, the city found out Sutherland has passed on and until recently had been unsuccessful in contacting Stonechild or his family.
However, after seeing media reports about the totem pole being moved, it was Darlene herself who contacted the city.
At a meeting on Monday night, council approved the new plan unanimously.
MacLeod Campbell says the city is covering the cost of removing the totem pole from the riverbank and the Stonechild family the cost of transporting the roughly 30-foot structure to Okanese, which is located near Fort Qu’Appelle.
She says there is no firm date yet when it will be moved but expects it to happen within the next month or so.
“You know they’ve agreed to do it, their chief and council has agreed to it, so we’re totally prepared to work with them, just need to get some dates from her (Darlene). I’m thinking the way Darlene talked, it will probably be by the end of September.”
Interestingly enough, totem poles are not part of First Nations culture on the Prairies but more commonplace amongst West Coast Indigenous peoples.
As part of researching the proper protocols to be followed in terms of removal and placement of the totem pole, the City of Prince Albert has been in contact with officials at the University of British Columbia’s Museum of Anthropology.
(PHOTO: Photo courtesy Prince Albert Historical Society.)