A MONUMENTAL STORY

First Nations Peace Monument completed in October 2024

Phase 2 of the First Nations Peace Monument was completed in summer 2024. It is a beautifully crafted and enduring work by celebrated Canadian architect and human rights activist of Siksaka (Blackfoot) heritage, Douglas Cardinal, a graceful curvilinear architectural sculpture exquisitely rendered in solid limestone by Ottawa-based heritage stone-carvers Smith and Barber. Cardinal’s vision was completed with the installation of the Sunflame centrepiece, also designed by Douglas Cardinal, and cast by Research Casting International in Nepean, Ontario.

Phase 1 of he First Nations Peace monument at its opening in October 2017, prior to landscaping and site improvements that further enhanced the DeCew House Heritage Park setting.


Phase 1 of the First Nations Peace Monument opened at Decew House Heritage Park in Thorold, Ontario on October 7th, 2017 .

The Sunflame centrepiece, installed in October 2024. The top of the sculpture is unobtrusively flattened to accommodate the use of a pan for First Nations smudging ceremonies.


Sunflame – the heart of the First Nations Peace Monument

Like many of Douglas Cardinal’s projects, the completion of the First Nations Peace Monument was not a simple process. As a visionary who has constantly challenged the boundaries of design, materials, and architectural form throughout his career, Cardinal proposed a series of evolving concepts to make up the central sculptural element in the First Nations Peace Monument. These ranged from a simple, internally lit alabaster sphere (which appeared on the initial renderings), through a tempered glass globe, to an open metallic lattice design – all of which proposed structural, manufacturing, or durability challenges.

Throughout the process, Douglas sought to retain both his signature curvilinear organic design vocabulary, and to express the warmth and light that emanates from both the hearths of longhouses and from the sun. The final design was, in a sense, the most unfettered expression of his artistic vision, since 3D computer design technology allowed him to envision, refine, and render a complex and flowing organic shape that would challenge conventional sculptural techniques. The final computer shapefile was used to print a life-sized 3D polymer version of the work which was used as a casting master for the final bronze sculpture.

The completed First Nations Peace Monument with the trilingual interpretive plaque (Mohawk, French, English) in the foreground. (2024-10-07)

The Sunflame centrepiece was exhibited in the Brock University Makerspace from December 15th, 2023 until its installation at the First Nations Peace Monument.

Autumn 2024 – The Vision Completed

Installation of the Sunflame sculpture in the centre of the First Nations Peace Monument took place at DeCew Heritage Park on September 30, 2024. Appropriately enough, the date was Canada’s fourth National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

The completed monument was formally unveiled at a ceremony on October 5th, 2024, with architect Douglas Cardinal in attendance.

Monument creator Douglas Cardinal and his partner and wife Idoia Arana Beobide Cardinal (in centre, with sunglasses) joined Friends of Laura Secord members Bob Watson (left), Caroline McCormick, and David Brown at the opening on Oct. 7, 2024.

Completion of this project acknowledges how the often uneasy relationship between Indigenous peoples and settlers can be galvanized into a powerful, sincere, and genuine allegiance to equitably pursue our collective shared interests.

It also fulfills Douglas Cardinal’s vision of creating a common nexus for discussion, contemplation, and action for truth, reconciliation, and enduring peace.

In consultation with Tim Johnson and Larry McDermott, Senior Indigenous Advisors to the Friends of Laura Secord, David T. Brown (Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Tourism Studies) and Caroline McCormick (President of the Friends of Laura Secord community group) envisioned the First Nations Peace Monument project just after the Laura Secord Commemorative Walk in 2013. Brock has been an essential partner of the Friends of Laura Secord in an enduring partnership which has engendered funding opportunities, collaborative relationships, and community engagement opportunities that made this and other projects possible.

Caroline McCormick (President, Friends of Laura Secord) and Dr. David T. Brown (Associate Professor, Geography and Tourism Studies) beside the Sunflame exhibit installation in the Brock University Makerspace on December 15th, 2023.