This week, David Smith finds himself, yet again, scrambling to pull an event together, and doing so with a celebratory spirit. This was his reality 30 years ago with the deadline for the dedication ceremony for the Old General Store just week’s away. Now he is scrambling to pull together a commemorative photo for the thirtieth anniversary of the building’s restoration, and the 90th anniversary of its initial construction. His plans for this photo were delayed, he says, because a statue called as Embracing the Spirit of the Flame stood right in front of the building and because it was not until this week that the municipality and artists agreed to let the statue be moved.
“Its location always bugged me because it took away from the view of the building,” says Smith. “Continuing the tradition of a community photo in from of the building was my motivation for working to relocate the sculpture.”
Back in May, Smith made an appeal to council asking that the statue be moved. This appeal was countered by Lonnie Hindle, who conducted a blessing ceremony on the day that the statue was placed, and put two eagle feathers under it. Hindle told council that the statue is in fact a totem and that according to First Nations’ tradition, once a totem is erected it should not be moved.
Councillor Tim Rhodes took the lead on this issue, which he says was complicated by the fact that, while the statue stood on municipal land, it did not in fact belong to the municipality.
“I spoke to the artists and they agreed that if a suitable location could be found they would agree to the statue being moved,” says Rhodes.
A spot just to the left of the ferry line-up past Village Square and above a stone retaining wall was suggested, and agreed to by all parties.
“I actually think this is a nicer location,” says Rhodes. “With all the greenery, it will be a better back drop to show this piece of art.”
The land does not belong to the municipality, but Rhodes says the municipality is working on the creation of a commemorative plaque to be placed beside the statue, thanking the artists for their work.
He adds that the statue is not, in fact, a totem.
“There was a blessing ceremony that went with the placing of it and there was some significance to that,” says Rhodes. “But it is a sculpture, not a totem.”
Lonnie Hindle says that half of the sculpture is a totem pole.
“A totem is not a piece of art. Traditionally, a totem would be placed in front of the Big House as a signifier of whose house it was. Once it was in place, the totem was not to be moved. If it fell down it would have to be replaced immediately. The ceremony I conducted was inkeeping with the traditions of pole-raising.”
Hindle says that he is not happy that the statue is moving, and the decision to move it does not reflect the wishes of a majority of Bowen Islanders.
However, Hindle says he will attend the event at which the pole will be placed at its new location, scheduled for August 18, but is not likely to conduct another ceremony.
Meanwhile, David Smith will be planning to capture “a moment of time” with as many Bowen Islanders in front of the Old General Store as possible, following the Bowfest parade.
