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.