A public monument portraying an Indigenous grandmother teaching her family members the ways of their culture is now on display at Nose Creek Park in Airdrie.
The bronze sculpture was created by award-winning sculptors Don and Shirley Bag, who run a Bronze Foundry and Art Gallery in Cochrane.
The commissioning of the artwork was donated to the City of Airdrie anonymously by a local family.
According to a post on the City of Airdrie Facebook Page, the statue is called “Stoney Grandmother’s Teachings” and depicts a Îethka or Stoney Nakoda grandmother educating her family. According to the City of Airdrie, the scene is intended to be around 1909 – the year Airdrie was incorporated as a municipality. The monument shows the grandmother “sharing her traditional knowledge of local vegetation” with her three grandchildren. A dog (a symbol of protection) is also included in the scene.
“This artwork was created to honour those Peoples who have been in relationship with this land since time immemorial and continue to live in the City of Airdrie, in the surrounding rural districts and in First Nations communities throughout the Treaty 7 Region of Alberta, as well as the Métis Nation of Alberta Region 3.”
Based on the consultation process with Elders and knowledge-keepers, choosing Nose Creek Park as the site for the public art was purposeful, as Nose Creek carries a lot of historic and cultural significance for the local Indigenous community.
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