A large crowd gathered in the Reconciliation Plaza behind the recently completed Our House of Clans development Saturday, July 6, to witness the unveiling of the Reconciliation Pole — five years in the making.
The pole was started in 2019, by the late ?antuni Tony Paul, a master carver and storyteller who passed away during the Covid pandemic, as did his wife. Following Paul’s death, numerous carvers took up the mission to complete the pole.
The large crowd of more than 200, many who wore orange “Every Child Matters,” T-shirts, applauded as the 30-foot-tall pole was unwrapped from the massive blue tarp covering it. The pole stands on property, once home to St. Augustine’s Residential School, which children from more than 50 First Nations were forced to attend.
The ceremony featured dancing, drumming and speeches from both visiting and local dignitaries, including shíshálh Nation lhe hiwus yalxwemult (Chief Lenora Joe), who described the historic moment as “emotional.”
“For so long, it was hard to see how the finishing touches would be and it's absolutely beautiful. I think our ?antuni Tony had such an amazing, amazing vision,” yalxwemult told the crowd. “He’s such an amazing artist. It helps he comes from a lineup of hereditary carvers and the detail in his work is just amazing.”
A longer version of this story can be found here.
