A private cultural ceremony was held to reinstall the Stan Modeste Totem, Salish Bear, to its rightful place at the Malahat Summit on Sept. 29.
Hosted by the Modeste family, representatives of Cowichan Tribes, Malahat, Halalt, Lyackson, StzB次元官网网址檜minus, and Penelakut First Nations, City of Duncan, Municipality of North Cowichan, and the Cowichan Valley Regional District were invited to the ceremony ahead of Orange Shirt Day and National Day of Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30.
B次元官网网址淗istoric injustices and ongoing racist attacks weigh heavily on our community,B次元官网网址� stated Cowichan Tribes Chief Lydia Hwitsum.
B次元官网网址淨uwB次元官网网址檜tsun people are taught by our Elders to help one another and work together for the good of all. It has been greatly appreciated to see and experience the support of the larger community for the repair and re-installation of Stan ModesteB次元官网网址檚 Salish Bear Totem.B次元官网网址�
The Salish Bear Totem was carved by renowned Cowichan carver Stan Modeste for the Route of Totems, created in 1966 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the joining of the Colony of Vancouver Island with the Colony of British Columbia.
Modeste attended the Coqualeetza Industrial School in Chilliwack.
He went on to serve as Chief of Cowichan Tribes for two terms, and in the 1970s was commissioned to carve a totem for a Canadian bankB次元官网网址檚 branch in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Modeste, who died in 1981, is remembered as a loving father and as a generous, fair, and knowledgeable leader.
In what is believed to be an act of retaliation following the toppling of a statue in Victoria, the totem was set ablaze in the early morning hours of July 2, 2021, with the message B次元官网网址淥ne Totem B次元官网网址� One StatueB次元官网网址� left in graffiti at the scene.
Passing motorists stopped to try to extinguish the flames and local firefighters and RCMP were called.
The totem was removed in accordance with cultural protocols in a cleansing ceremony last summer and was refurbished by Cowichan carver Doug August.
B次元官网网址淲hen this pole was burned in a senseless act of racism, an elder shared with me the protocol process the carver, Stan Modeste, went through before he created the living, breathing representation of the culture that he was generous enough to share,B次元官网网址� said Duncan Mayor Michelle Staples.
B次元官网网址淭his process of restoration has shown once again the generosity of the QuwB次元官网网址檜tsun people, and I am thankful for our work together to bring this pole back.B次元官网网址�
