Calgary Indigenous groups angry over sculpture resembling burial scaffolds

Pair of councillors look to freeze public art funding A motion will be raised in council by councillors Shane Keating and Sean Chu to freeze funding for public art and alter the application process. Jaclyn Brown has reaction.

Indigenous groups in Calgary say a new city-funded sculpture by an American artist is too similar to their traditional burial scaffolds.

New York-based artist Del Geist’s sculpture, dubbed “Bowfort Towers,” has become a lightning rod for criticism in the city, where First Nations groups say they should have been consulted about the design first.

The sculpture consists of four “towers,” each made of three upright metal beams, with haphazardly-arranged, roughly horizontal bars supporting slabs of rundle stone between the uprights. Some say it bears a strong resemblance to the burial scaffolds used by the Blackfoot people to honour their dead. These platforms would be built high up in the branches of trees.

Michelle Robinson, an Indigenous woman from Calgary who is mulling a run for city council, says she’s heard from many who are not happy with the sculpture.

“I know nobody meant to offend anybody,” she told CTV Calgary. “But now that it’s up and it does look so similar (to burial scaffolds), I think we’re going to have to look at ways to modify it.”

Robinson also questioned why the city did not consult with the local community about the design, or look to a local artist for the $500,000 project.

Indigenous artist Adrian Stimson, who submitted a design for the project after the deadline, says there should have been a review process in place for the design that was ultimately chosen.

“The artist needs to show the group what they’re working on so that people can actually give input,” he said.

Indigenous chiefs in the area say they want to meet with Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi to discuss the sculpture.

“Calgarians deserve better and Aboriginal people deserve better, and I believe the artist can do better,” Tsuu T’ina Nation spokesperson Kevin Littlelight said.

City councilor Sean Chu said he plans to introduce a motion to freeze public art funding, until the system is changed to allow more consultations with the public. He suggested public art should be chosen through web polls.

“Let the citizens of Calgary vote on that,” he said. “If that was the case, I don’t think we would be here talking about this piece of art.”

The sculptor did not respond to a CTV Calgary request for comment.