Monday, October 21, 2013

Monuments In The Park: First Nations

The Aboriginal Veteran's Monument is the last of the military monuments in Confederation Park, and it has always impressed me. It stands on the western edge of the park, across from the Lord Elgin hotel, and is a mixture of First Nations people and their spiritual ties to the land. Atop the stone base, we can find the wolf, the elk, the bison, and the bear. First Nations warriors form the second layer in the sculpture, and the entire work is topped by a magnificent eagle. It speaks to the tradition of the warrior in our First Nations peoples, as well as a long history of Aboriginal veterans serving in the Canadian Forces, throughout both World Wars, Korea, and many other military operations. I prefer taking shots of it from all four sides. 





10 comments:

  1. The third and fourth photos are excellent, with the trees as the backdrop instead of the building. I especially like in photo 3 how the eagle is on the backdrop of the sky, appearing to take flight.

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    1. It's the sort of monument that does work well with the environment of the park behind it, so from the west side is best. Though I do like to get in a shot with the Baptist church in the background, as in that second shot.

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  2. I agree with Carla. The trees as backdrop make the statues stand out!

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  3. Great photos! I like the idea of having aboriginal memorials. We don't seem to have many around here.

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    1. If only our government here would actually treat the living aboriginals with something approaching respect...

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  4. Another fine monument and often-overlooked subject matter.

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  5. Oh yes! It looks different in the daytime! But marvelous still.

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