Rethink 150 ‘intervention’ at Knox Mountain Park removed before anyone noticed

KELOWNA – As efforts by local indigenous groups to encourage people consider the colonial legacy on First Nations gain momentum ahead of Canada Day, July 1, one creative effort disappeared within hours.

Nine people were photographed at Knox Mountain Thursday evening, holding up nine plaques, that when put together made up a poem aimed at challenging the Canada 150 narrative.

Attempts to reach the creators today were unsuccessful, but social media posts say the plaques were placed on top of the City's existing plaques at Knox Mountain. As of 9:30 a.m. today, June 30, there was no sign of them. A spokesperson for the City of Kelowna couldn't confirm if the city removed them.

“I like this place
I’m going to take it
Make it Mine
Through force, design
Name it anew
Make a sign
Impose my story
Stake my claim
Belie my crime.”

It's unclear what became of the replaced plaques.

Further events advocating for Rethink150: Indigenous Truth are planned for Friday night and Saturday amid Canada150 events. 

At the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art, located at 421 Cawston Ave., is an anticolonial, Rethink150: Indigenous Truth art exhibit. The exhibit features both professional and non-professional artists' work.

Tonight, the Alternator Centre is also hosting an Activist Poetry and Spoken Word event. The event starts at 7 p.m. and will run for approximately two hours. 

The Rethink150: Indigenous Truth movement is a national movement aimed at shining light on Canada's full history.

"This date is considered by many to be the official beginning of Canada as a country. However, this story about the beginnings of Canada ignores the long history of Indigenous peoples on their lands, and minimizes or ignores entirely how 'Canada' takes place through ongoing, violent processes of occupation and displacement– processes that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has labeled cultural genocide," reads the official Rethink150: Indigenous Truth Facebook page. "Canada 150 is a story that needs to be disrupted so Indigenous truth can be heard."

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