School District 57 unveiled the refurbished carving that welcomes visitors to the District Office in Prince George this afternoon. (Tuesday)
The project was led by Peter George, the original artist of the sign.
“The sign has been here for 22 years, but it was clear to me last fall that it could use a refurbishment,” said School District 57 Superintendent Jameel Aziz.
“To find out the artist was still available and willing to do the work for us, involve kids in the carving and the sanding and the painting, this has been a real community project led by of course, Mr. George. To see the finished product today is just a really positive day for our school district.”
According to George, the carving was finished on Monday after eight months of work with his daughter Hailey.
“As a father I’m really pleased she wanted to take part and learn, so much so I gave her her starting kit of carving tools,” he said.
“She was a really good student, along with my other daughter, Stephanie, when she came back from school for a couple of days, she came down and carved as well, both of them were a huge part of this.”
The sign features hand prints from Peter, Hailey and Stephanie.
For Hailey, she said it was an emotional day for her.
“I will be able to look at this sign for the rest of my life and see my dad’s handprint, my handprint, and my sister’s handprint on it,” she said.
“For me, that gives me so much pride, not just pride, but Indigenous pride.”
She added she would love for it to continue to be a family legacy.
“If I have children of my own, they will definitely be participating in learning everything that my dad taught to me,” she said.
“If it’s my sister’s children, I would just like all the children to be involved, they don’t even have to be involved.”
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