Dave McGary
The Emergence of the Chief, 2005
Medium: Bronze with patina and paint
Dimensions: 488 cm high
Patron: CALP Foundation and Power Corporation
About the Artwork
Wa’tkwanonhwerá:ton.
This sculpture pays homage to the Kanien’kehá:ka nation, who are part of the Rotinonhsión:ni Confederacy. It is a symbol to remind all Canadian settlers that Concordia University is built on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Kanien’kehá:ka People, Keepers of the Eastern Door of the Rotinonhsión:ni Confederacy.
The sculpture depicts a Oiá:ner, a Clan Mother, who continue to be powerful leaders among the Rotinonhsión:ni, standing next to a Roiá:ner, holding the Two Row Wampum Belt, known as Tekani Teiotha’tá:tie Kaswéntah’.
The Two Row Wampum Belt is recognized as the ‘Grandfather of all Treaties’, created by the Rotinonhsión:ni Confederacy to establish an ethical framework that underscores the mutual relationship on how various colonial-settler societies formed by the Dutch, French, British, Canadian and American peoples and their descendants were and are to conduct themselves today as guests living in the lands of the Rotinonhsión:ni based on peaceful co-existence, respect and friendship.
The sculpture invites all Concordia students, faculty and staff to reflect on what it means to be studying and working on the traditional lands of the Kanien’kehá:ka and encourages them to build mutually respectful relationships with all Indigenous peoples.
About the Artist
Dave McGary (1958-2013) was from Wyoming and worked out of New Mexico. He is considered the Master of Realism depicting Native American Indians. Major pieces are found in the United States Capitol Rotunda and the Wyoming State Capitol.
Artwork Location
Campus: Loyola
Location: Quadrangle, Richard J. Renaud Science Complex and Communication Studies and Journalism Building.
Address: 7141 Sherbrooke St. W.
