Voice of Mother Earth - Summerland, British Columbia - Bear Statues on Waymarking.com

Created on-site during the 2002 Okanagan Thompson International Sculpture Symposium (OTISS), this stone sculpture represents a bringing together of indigenous and non-indigenous people.

"In my Cree culture." says artist Stewart Steinhauer, 'the stone has a spiritual presence which bears a responsibility, even an obligation to help us humans with our communications'. This is the reasoning behind naming Summerland’s sculpture “Voice of Mother Earth”. As to all my other work the stone spirit, and the earth that it rises up out of participates in the art of creation."

The five-boulder placement represents a medicine wheel pattern with each of the four outer stones pointing in one of the four cardinal directions. The centre stones are carved into various forms: on one side the Bear it seen as the spiritual protector of the land, and his mountain home. On the other side the "face" of Giant's Head Mountain represents our local mountain formation.

The granite stones used in this sculpture came from Penticton Indian Band land overlooking Okanagan Lake just south of Summerland, near the abandoned Kettle Valley Railway bed. The choice of materials and the arrangement of the boulders gives expression to indigenous spirituality whereas the machines needed to lift and move the stones, as well as the organizational and economic activities that led to the finished result represent the non-indigenous Euro-Canadian material technology. A blending of the two worlds was a necessary factor in bringing this sculpture to life.

ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Stewart Steinhauer was born in Alberta at Saddle Lake First Nation. He is a self-taught stone carver and became a full time artist in 1990. Early on Stewart became involved in, and was inspired by the spiritual ceremonies of his people. These experiences nurture and guide him in his artistic career. “In Cree, we say the rock is our spokesman. I feel through my work, the rock is trying to communicate important cultural values to a broader audience".

This project has been made possible through substantial contributions;

The Citizens of Summerland, Aquila, Dave Knight Trucking, the Ohmenzetter Family, Oldies 1450, Summerland and District Credit Union and Summerland Electrical.
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