Totem pole heading for artist’s family home

It was ultimately decided the pole would be laid to rest near the penitentiary. When Darlene Stonechild learned of that plan through the media, she reached out to McLeod Campbell and told her she’d like to bring the artifact back to Okanese on behalf of her brother.

“So we worked together and we worked it out,” Stonechild told paNOW. “We can display it in Okanese where his home is. This is his homeland, where his relatives are, and his grandchildren can be proud of something.”

Stonechild talks to her brother, who is currently incarcerated in Abbotsford, B.C., regularly over the phone and he approved the plan.

James Sutherland and Dale Stonechild led the carving of the totem pole inside Saskatchewan Penitentiary (City of Prince Albert/council minutes)

A gift of thanks

Stonechild’s sister learned about the history of the landmark from him. During the 1970s, when he and Sutherland were incarcerated at Saskatchewan Penitentiary, there was no recreational programming.

“So what the people of P.A. would do, they would come into the penitentiary and they’d have picnics and BBQs and play football, and soccer and play cards with the inmates,” she said.

These activities were hugely important to them.

“I think they kept them sane at a time when nobody was there; their families weren’t there,” she added.

As a symbol of their appreciation, a group of inmates led by Sutherland, with Stonechild as his main assistant, carved the totem pole as gift to the city.

“We’re grateful to the people of Prince Albert for what they did for them,” Darlene said. “They took great pride in doing that.”

Stonechild is responsible for much of the painting, including the wings of the thunderbird that crowns the pole.

The Storyteller by Dale Stonechild (Royal Saskatchewan Museum/Facebook)

A family history

According to his sister, Dale was always interested in art, but wasn’t able to utilize his gifts to their full potential early in life. He and his siblings spent much of their childhood and adolescence attending the Gordon Indian Residential School in Punnichy, Sask.

Stonechild said her brother has struggled with the life-long effects of the severe trauma caused by his time at the school and the physical, sexual and emotional abuse he endured there.

Dale and Darlene are both third-generation residential school survivors.

In 2013 he was convicted of manslaughter in the death of Victor McNab.

Stonechild, now 65, has six years left in his 15-year sentence. Even if he were to be released on parole, it’s unlikely the conditions would allow him to leave B.C., according to his sister. So, it’s unclear if and when he’ll be able to see the totem pole displayed in his home community.

Finding a new home

Darlene is planning to come to Prince Albert to get the pole sometime in early September. A ceremony will be performed as it is taken down and it will then be transported by flatbed truck to Okanese. The Stonechild family and Okanese First Nation will cover the cost of moving the landmark.

Stonechild wanted to emphasize the gratitude she feels towards the city of Prince Albert for letting her take the pole.

She will be in contact with Haida experts regarding the proper treatment of the artwork, as totem poles belong to their culture, not her own.

With plans to display the pole in her yard with lights shining on it, Stonechild is looking forward to having it in Okanese.

“For myself and my relatives – Dale’s relatives – it’s a lot of pride. It’s his art that’s coming home, a piece of history, his history is coming home,” she said.

alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@alisandstrom

by Alison Sandstrom

Totem pole heading for artist’s family home

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