The totem pole on Prince Albert's riverbank has stood for almost 45 years but needs to be removed for safety reasons.(Glenn Hicks/paNOW Staff)

By Glenn Hicks

laying an artifact to rest

P.A. totem pole to be removed for safety reasons

Jul 23, 2019 | 11:50 AM

One of Prince Albert’s iconic cultural attractions is set to be removed and laid to rest.

The totem pole on the riverbank has been deemed to be a public safety hazard.

“There are two issues,” Judy Macleod Campbell, the city’s arts and cultural coordinator told paNOW. “There’s significant rotting at the [visible] base of the totem pole and we’re assuming there’s rotting underground as well. Also, it’s very tall and the wingspan at the top is an issue regarding its stability.”

MacLeod Campbell explained to city council’s executive committee Monday that extensive research and consultation took place in the last year regarding what to do with the deteriorating wooden structure. It was designed and carved especially for Prince Albert by two former inmates at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary, James Sutherland and his assistant Dale Stonechild. It was then donated to the city in 1975.

“No one wants to see any type of public art or historical artefact removed but definitely there was consensus among the Historical Society’s Knowledge Keepers as well as the elders we talked to at the penitentiary that [laying it to rest] was the right thing to do in terms of protocol as well as public safety,” she said.

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The intended location for the totem pole’s final resting place is the treed area near the Saskatchewan Penitentiary and St. Mary’s Cemetery. City council has asked that a ceremony be held when the 34-foot high and three-foot round piece is removed as well as when it is laid to rest.

The research indicated totem poles are a coastal practice and not usually repaired or re-painted. A suggestion had been made to contact the carvers to ask them what to do with it but Sutherland is believed to have died and Stonechild is believed to be in prison in B.C.

MacLeod Campbell said the removal and relocation of the totem pole will likely happen in the fall. City council will first have to sign off on the process.

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow