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A photo of the Unity Pole outside of the Press Building.

Unity Pole

In early 2017, in celebration of the enormous contribution that Canada’s indigenous people have made to this great land, the CNE commissioned Ojibway artist Kris Nahrgang to create a Unity Pole.

Incorporating the traditional medicinal colour palette of indigenous peoples: red, white, black and yellow, embellished with other colours, Kris has created a distinctive 25-foot pole out of a cedar tree which embraces such universal symbols as the turtle (mother earth), the bear (family), and the eagle (flies between the spiritual and the mutable worlds), to create a dramatic Unity Pole and a lasting legacy honouring our Indigenous peoples.

Once again this year, the Unity Pole was on display outside at the southwest corner of the Press Building on Princes’ Boulevard.