The new stage at the Cultural Corner will be known as the Eagle Gathering Stage.
The open space located outside the Library and Hearth Gallery has already seen plenty of use since its completion last year. This includes a place for children to meet Santa Claus last December, the return of the Green Man Festival this spring, and the unveiling of a new carving by Bowen artist Simon Daniel James in the summer.
It was that carving which ultimately ended up inspiring the name, a task both the Library and Hearth Boards have been working on for the past few months. Members of each group, along with chief librarian Tina Nielsen, explained how the choice came about during council Nov. 14.
James’ piece, which he titled ‘Eagle Descending’, “told the story of a Thunderbird which showed itself in a dream to him after his grandfather passed away. The dream was about keeping going, about pursuing his dream as a carver,” recalled Hearth board member Kate Thomas-Peter of an explanation James gave for the carving. “The Eagle that he created for the stage is his representation of that dream. Simon also mentioned that the Thunderbird in his dream had come to take him home,” she added during the council meeting.
James, also known as Winadzi, suggested a good name for the stage could incorporate themes of gathering, space and place, along with Eagles themselves. He added a good follow-up would be to talk to Squamish Nation to see what the translated phrase for ‘gathering place’ would be, and later add it to the stage name.
The two boards also referenced a song which is well known among Bowen Island Community School members, ‘The Gathering of Eagles’, gifted to BICS music teacher Cindy Fairbank by Bob Baker of Squamish Nation. “You might begin to hear that there’s a little bit of a theme going on,” pointed out Thomas-Peter.
Discussions with the local Museum & Archives delved into the history of Indigenous Peoples on Bowen Island, along with later examples of the community gathering to complete a task, such as moving the General Store or hoisting the Totem Pole at the Bowen Island Lodge.
“We’ve landed at this place where lots of different threads were coming together,” said Library board member Jeb Gutelius of the evidence their search was turning up. “It just kept coming back to this idea of gathering of Eagles and gathering of people. So we landed on the idea of what if we name the stage Eagle Gathering Stage, first in English… and then the proper Squamish translation,” said Gutelius.
Council expressed their enjoyment with both the process and final result of the name search and approved ‘Eagle Gathering Stage’ in a 4-1 vote. Coun. Judith Gedye was in opposition, having expressed the desire for more consultation with Squamish Nation before settling on a name. Councillors Alex Jurgensen and Tim Wake were away.
Library and Hearth members will now discuss an equivalent Squamish name with Squamish Nation.
