Indigenous Artist Chosen to Design Canada’s Afghan War Memorial
The federal government has selected an Indigenous artist’s design concept for a planned national monument for Canada’s mission in Afghanistan.
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Lawrence MacAulay announced this on Monday Adrian Smithson‘s design won after many rounds of consultation with the public and stakeholders. He said veterans influenced the choice of the final design.
Stimson is a member of the Siksika First Nation of southern Alberta and a veteran of the Canadian Forces who served with CFB Esquimalt.
Stimson was sent to Afghanistan through the Canadian Forces Artist Program. He said his art was trying to capture what he and other Canadians experienced in Afghanistan.
Adrian Stimson, the visual artist behind the design chosen for the new national memorial for Canada’s mission in Afghanistan, discusses how his experiences as a war artist inspired the memorial’s design. “Space speaks to our ideas about safety, security and home, and why we fight for it,” Stimson said.
Stimson’s design for the memorial “draws elements of healing from the Medicine Wheel and takes the form of a circular, sacred space of safety, a home of reflection, memory and contemplation,” according to the press release.
“It consists of four portals, where an inner area is the shrine where the fallen are remembered. On the walls of three of the quadrants are written the year, the names of the fallen and maple leaves, in different rows. The fourth southeast quadrant wall in the direction of Afghanistan is dedicated to fallen Afghan allies. In the center are four bronze body armor draped on crosses – utilitarian but poignant reminders of protection.”
“Team Stimson’s design captures the intellectual, emotional, spiritual and physical aspects of war from both a Canadian and Afghan perspective,” said MacAulay.
Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) said the memorial “will recognize an important chapter in Canada’s history and pay tribute to the commitment and sacrifice of Canadians in rebuilding Afghanistan.”
Canada joined the mission in Afghanistan in October 2001 and continued to support military efforts there until March 2014. More than 40,000 Canadian troops served in Afghanistan and 159 were killed on missions in theater during the 13-year operation.
Stimson’s design loved by the public
The memorial is being built on the LeBreton Flats in Ottawa, near the Canadian War Museum and the National Holocaust Memorial.
Consultations on the monument began in January 2020.
According to a Veterans Affairs report, the first phase was an open, online consultation about the memorial’s objectives, visitor experience, and shape and character. This phase received 4,056 responses from across the country, including some from veterans and their relatives.
The second phase of the consultation process consisted of two face-to-face meetings with stakeholder groups in February 2020. Representatives from the VAC Ministerial Memorial Advisory Group, Pikwàkanagàn First Nation and Kitigan Zibi Anishinābeg First Nation attended these meetings.
According to the report, stakeholders agreed “that expressing Canada’s deep gratitude for the sacrifices of Canadians serving in Afghanistan should be the main purpose of the memorial.”
In May 2021, the federal government again asked the public to weigh in via an online survey, this time on five design proposals selected by a jury.
According to the press release, Team Stimson’s concept was favored during this part of the consultation process, receiving between 52 and 62 percent support from more than 10,000 responses.
The next steps in the process of creating the monument include detailed development of the selected design and then construction.
VAC said it has no expected start date for construction, but expects it to happen “as soon as possible”.
