PORT ALBERNI A brand new totem pole now stands where a shadow was once cast by Port Alberni's notorious residential school.
The pole was raised early Friday morning to commemorate the efforts of Art Thompson. Thompson was victimized as a student at the school and spent part of his adult life fighting to bring his abusers to justice.
The raising ceremony drew a crowd of at least 100 people, who watched in silence as the pole was first blessed and then lifted onto its pedestal. The pole will stand adjacent to the school's only two remaining buildings.
Thompson died in 2003, at the age of 55. As an adult he was a successful Nuu-chah-nulth artist, but his life was fraught with struggle. When he was two years old he contracted tuberculosis and was hospitalized for three years. When he recovered he was briefly returned to his family, before being sent to the Port Alberni Residential School where he was sexually and physically abused. Finally, in his adult life, Thompson fought to bring his abusers to justice and for records to be created about what happened at the residential school.
"[The pole] is one of the biggest honours you can give someone who's passed on and did a lot of things with his life," said Charlene Thompson-Reid, wife of the late artist. "He took a leadership role in taking his abusers to court and won, and then he took Canada to court."
But Thompson-Reid said her husband's motivation was to create official records of the abuse, not money.
There were scores of abuse cases linked to the Port Alberni school, which operated from 1920 to 1972. In the years following Thompson's court victories against his abusers, there have been numerous convictions of those found guilty of mistreating children in their care at the school.
"From there he was involved in speaking and encouraging others to speak out and not own their shame anymore," Thompson-Reid said of her husband's life after his court victories.
In addition to his wife, Thompson's brother Jack also attended the ceremony. He called it part of the healing process that needs to take place for survivors of the residential school system.
Likewise, Tseshaht Chief Councillor Les Sam called the former school site a "scar in our backyard" and expressed pride that "the Indian wasn't beaten out of the child here at the residential school."
Whether the pole stays in its new location remains to be seen. Sam said the Nuu-chah-nulth people are calling on the government to build a health and wellness centre on the site of the old residential school and depending on the outcome of that project, the pole might be relocated.
Gordon Dick, the lead artist and carver of the pole, said it feels great to see his project to completion. It took Dick, with the help of Erich Glendale and Alex Spence, more than a month to complete the 18-foot red-cedar pole.
"It hasn't really sunk in," Dick said. "I haven't even had a chance to walk around it yet."
With the pole complete, Dick said he will turn his attention back to his other art projects.