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Submitted by:
BUSA3105 - Leadership 1 - People Skills - Set 7H - Group 2
What type of leadership is present in the community?
Community
How is this art specifically seen in the community?
This piece of local art, “Return of the Sockeye”, can be viewed at the heart of Coquitlam’s Spirit Square.
When viewed in-person, the sculpture is composed of various madia including metal, glass, and water to represent a sockeye salmon. First created in 2010 by the collaborative efforts of Ross Ireland, Chris Phillips, and Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg, Return of the Sockeye can be seen during the day or in the night when it is illuminated in the square.
The sculpture itself is composed of three pieces, the metal salmon, two concrete pillars, and a water feature in the summer. The metal salmon is arched over the concrete pillars that represent a dam and in the summer streams of water and red glass (representing salmon eggs) can be viewed from one side of it. As the standalone piece of art in the square, the sculpture stands out and can be witnessed from any end of the park. As a whole, the sockeye represents the stories embedded in Coquitlam’s First Nation’s and their rich history.
How do you think the art has made meaning in the community?
The abstract, intricate, and immediately recognizable nature of the statue has served to be the anchor of Spirit Square for almost a decade. As a local piece of art, the statue represents the dense past of Coquitlam’s First Nations as well as the cultural and genetic significance of sockeye salmon that annually spawned in the Coquitlam River.
As a community, Coquitlam—kĘ·ikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) literally meaning “red fish up the river”— had an abundance of sockeye salmon until the 1900s until the BC government built a dam that led to their disappearance. However, since the 2000s multiple local First Nation’s groups have been successful in bringing sockeye back to the Coquitlam River.Â
Today, the statue holistically represents the joining of nature with people and pays specific tribute to the sockeye that exist at the heart of Coqutilam’s history. Furthermore, the statue symbolizes the resilience of Coquitlam’s First Nations and their efforts to maintain the community’s closely knit relationship with nature as time passes.