Work is getting underway this month on a sculpture to memorialize murdered and missing Indigenous women, girls and LGBTQ+ individuals, with the goal of unveiling it next fall along Highway 1 west of Kamloops, B.C.
Artist Vaughn Warren is starting to carve Let Their Spirit Soar this month on Skeetchestn First Nation ancestral lands.
The design collaboration process saw community members share stories, information and drawings. The final design was accepted last month by the community.
"The helical design includes the form of a gender-neutral warrior striking a decorated drum with a powerful drumstick, sounding the alarm, calling for justice and rallying the spirits of the living and the with an honour song," says a statement from the Skeetchestn Indian Band.
The finished work will be installed at the Skeetchestn Big Sky Station gas bar on Highway 1 near Savona, B.C.
Source: Skeetchestn Indian Band