Unity Rider - Osoyoos, British Columbia
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T0SHEA
N 49° 02.157 W 119° 28.663
11U E 318911 N 5434409
Unity Rider is behind the Osoyoos Visitors Centre located at 9912 Hwy. 3. If the visitors centre is closed you can still see Unity Rider by entering the back from the side of the building.
Waymark Code: WMMTXE
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 11/05/2014
Views: 2
Unity Rider is referred at "Nk'Mip Man and Horse (2)" at Large Canadian Roadside Attractions. When checking the possible roadside attractions in Osoyoos, it took me three days of wondering: "Where is this?" We have often gone to the Visitors Centre when in the area to learn what is new in Osoyoos. We always go out back to have another look at this amazing sculpture.
There is a sign board explaining the sculpture, it is transcribed as follows:
THE UNITY RIDER
Collaboratively designed by Chief Clarence Louie of the Osoyoos Band, and Okanagan artist Virgil "Smoker' Marchand of the Colville Confederated Tribes in Omak, Washington.
This dramatic steel sculpture was commissioned by Tourism British Columbia to welcome and guide the visitor to Osoyoos. It speaks as a symbolic gesture of unification, and the strength in partnership between the communities of the Osoyoos Indian Band, the Town of Osoyoos, and the Province of British Columbia.
The Unity Rider sculpture design has been adopted from the original, and widely photographed, Chiefs Sculpture at nearby NK'MIP Desert Cultural Centre of the NK'MIP (ink-a-meep) Resort. This Unity Rider horse, however, is markedly different in its dramatic rearing position. The ceremonial Unity Staff, or medicine staff, and the grizzly bear graphic on the Chief's shield are both powerful Aboriginal symbols. The grizzly bear motif is especially significant as Chief Clarence Louie has, in April 2007, been ceremonially assigned the native traditional ancestral name of "Kilawna", translated as "Grizzly Bear".
The Unity symbolism originated as part of the modern North American Aboriginal Unity Ride ceremony. The nine feathers in the staff represent the nine known Okanagan Indian bands of the 1880 post-reservation era.
Chief Clarence Louie and Virgil "Smoker" Marchand have designed and produced several statues in this community, including those at NK'MIP Cellars, NK'MIP Desert Cultural Centre, Sen Pok Chin School, NK'MIP Canyon Desert Golf Course, and the Osoyoos Indian Band Health Centre.
The Chief has, over many years, commissioned numerous Okanagan Native artworks. In a highly collaborative effort, he develops and conveys concepts to which the artist responds. From the first paper drafts through production, a creative and consultative, edit-and-approval process evolves. The sculptures have become a unique and enduring legacy of the Osoyoos Indian Band.
OSOYOOS INDIAN BAND
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