Indigenous sculpture finds final resting place at Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park

A controversial 26-foot sculpture of an Indigenous man made out of white pine was laid to rest Thursday morning during a special ceremony.

A 26-foot carving of an Indigenous man made from white pine was laid to rest Thursday morning during a special ceremony at the Canadian Ecology Centre just outside of Mattawa, Ont.

The sculpture, called ‘Nibissing,’ disappeared for seven years in storage and was returned to the land Thursday, where it will be used as a teaching lesson.

The sculpture was prominently displayed on the North Bay landscape for three decades.

“It’s important that we not be seen as people of the past. We’re still here,” said Maurice Switzer, a board member for the North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre.

It was first erected in September 1988 as part of a series of more than 70 carvings called the ‘Trail of the Whispering Giants’ created by Florida artist Peter ‘Wolf’ Toth.

He carved one statue for each U.S. state before creating the sculpture that would stand in North Bay.

“The purpose of my work is … that it honours people facing injustice,” Toth told CTV News from his studio near Edgewater, Fla.

North Bay was the first Canadian location to receive a sculpture after Toth was invited to visit the city in the 1980s. The city approached the Rotary Club of Nipissing to sponsor it.

For decades, it stood at the corner of Seymour Street and the Highway 11/17 bypass beside the former home of the Dionne Quintuplets.

“It brought a lot of people to the North Bay in terms of seeing it because it was the first statue outside of the States,” said Tony Limina, the former president of the Rotary Club.

When the Dionne home was moved to its Oak Street location in 2018 by the Lake Nipissing waterfront, the sculpture was hauled away and put into storage.

Over time, it started to crack and was deemed not suitable for relocation.

Switzer said while it was made with the best intentions, it’s not culturally appropriate in modern society.

Good intention

“It’s not considered appropriate that any peoples, whether they’re black, white, yellow or red, to be mascots or stereotypes or caricatures,” he said.

“But that doesn’t diminish the original good intention that the Rotarians had. We’re very much present. Many people don’t know that, for example, in the City of North Bay, there are 7,000 urban Indigenous residents, including myself.”

When Bill Steer, founder and general manager of the ecology centre, learned that the statue was in storage, he wanted to preserve it and find a new home for it.

He worked with Limina and Switzer among other Indigenous representatives to find it a new home, but in a way that would respect Indigenous culture and tradition.

So, a small ceremony was held Thursday afternoon to welcome the sculpture to the Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park, where it will be laid on the ground and it can be used as an educational tool -- before nature eventually takes its course.

Return to Mother Earth

Much like retired totem poles on the west coast, eventually after time, the sculpture will deteriorate and go back into the Earth.

“Understanding the current culture that we’re in and the current situation, it’s a great opportunity in terms of how to bring it back to Mother Earth in a respectful way,” Limina said.

Steer said thousands of students and adults will be able to come by and see the sculpture and learn about its journey.

“Murray Sinclair once said ‘Education got us into this mess and education will get us out of this mess,’” he said.

“I think this is an educational opportunity … It’s part of the many calls to action and the Truth and Reconciliation."

Toth said he is happy with the outcome. He’s hoping people who visit the sculpture will reflect on injustice Indigenous people have faced over the years.

“These statues are made to honour the First Nations in Canada,” he added.