Every piece of art starts with an idea. For blacksmith and artist Paul Reimer and visual artist Mike Hepher, it started with the question, “What can we do to address the divisions between First Nations people and ourselves?” The answer is the new reconciliation sculpture that was installed in late June 2010 at the Canadian Rockies International Airport just out of Cranbrook, British Columbia.

The sculpture commemorates the relationship between the Ktunaxa First Nation and the people of Cranbrook, and features a traditional Ktunaxa sturgeon-nosed canoe being carried by six figures over agitated water. Those three essential elements—canoes, people and water—represent the past, present and future of the connection. Reimer explained at the unveiling that the water and canoe are important parts of the Ktunaxa culture. The human figures, which resemble Ktunaxa pictographs found in the region, symbolize aboriginal and European settlers trying to portage the canoe across waters that, after decades of turbulence, are becoming calm as trust and understanding grows.

Reimer said he was embraced by the Ktunaxa elders when he presented the idea late in 2009, which itself became a representation of building relationships.

“They received me with warmth, with openness and great humour,” he said. “Mike and I are so honoured that the Ktunaxa have entrusted their cultural symbols and the subject of reconciliation to two white guys—two artists—and we want to thank (them) from the bottom of our hearts to allow us to create this work.”

Reimer and Hepher spoke with eloquence about the history of colonialism and racism and the effect that it has had on aboriginal culture and their wish to be a part of redressing some of those wrongs.

“I have felt shame but have not been able to answer, ‘What do I do to fix it?’ ” said Hepher. “The journey of designing and building the sculpture has helped me to see there is only one way to move forward and that is to allow ourselves to be reconciled to one another.”

In attendance were several dignitaries and Ktunaxa elders, including Chief Cheryl Casimer of the St. Mary Band and the chiefs of neighbouring Ktunaxa bands, Kathryn Teneese, chair of the Ktunaxa Nation Council, Columbia Basin Trust chair Garry Merkel, MP Jim Abbott and Cranbrook mayor Scott Manjak. All of the speakers expressed how moved they were by the sculpture and the hope for the future that it represented.

“This statue signifies our commitment to working together for a better future for all who live in this territory. Today we acknowledge our history and our past,” said Casimer of the sculpture’s significance. “It’s like the end of the chapter in a book and now we turn the page to a new chapter, a blank page that we will fill and write together. Today we unveil what will be a legacy we will all be proud of, a legacy that will be seen by thousands that arrive or depart from this airport and they will know the people of this region are honourable visionaries.”