The Three Watchmen / Les trois sentinelles

The Three Watchmen are figures associated with Haida villages in Haida Gwaii, where watchmen were often placed atop tall cedar totem poles in front of houses to watch for danger from both the supernatural and everyday worlds and give warning when a threat approached. For the artist James Hart, hereditary Chief of the Staast'as Eagle Clan, their function here is heightened by the nearby symbolic centres of church and government, including the Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica, the American Embassy, and the Canadian Parliament buildings, which reflect historical and ongoing relationships with the Haida. The nearby monument Reconciliation also places them in a broader context of mediation, resolution, peace, and conciliation.

Ontario · Canada