October 7th, 2017 marked the opening ceremonies for Phase 1 of the First Nations Peace Monument at Decew House Heritage Park in Thorold, Ontario. It is a beautifully crafted and enduring work by celebrated Canadian architect and human rights activist of Siksaka (Blackfoot) heritage, Douglas Cardinal, a graceful curvilinear architectural sculpture exquisitely rendered in solid limestone by Ottawa-based heritage stone-carvers Smith and Barber.

The monument was completed in summer 2024 with the installation of the Sunflame centrepiece, also designed by Douglas Cardinal, and cast by Research Casting International in Nepean, Ontario.

Like many of Douglas Cardinal's projects, the completion of the First Nations Peace Monument was not a simple process. As a visionary who has constantly challenged the boundaries of design, materials, and architectural form throughout his career, Cardinal proposed a series of evolving concepts to make up the central sculptural element in the First Nations Peace Monument. These ranged from a simple, internally lit alabaster sphere (which appeared on the initial renderings), through a tempered glass globe, to an open metallic lattice design - all of which proposed structural, manufacturing, or durability challenges.

Throughout the process, Douglas sought to retain both his signature curvilinear organic design vocabulary, and to express the warmth and light that emanates from both the hearths of longhouses and from the sun. The final design was, in a sense, the most unfettered expression of his artistic vision, since 3D computer design technology allowed him to envision, refine, and render a complex and flowing organic shape that would challenge conventional sculptural techniques. The final computer shapefile was used to print a life-sized 3D polymer version of the work which was used as a casting master for the final bronze sculpture.

The top of the sculpture is unobtrusively flattened to accommodate the use of a pan for First Nations smudging ceremonies.

Three of several stages in the evolution of the First Nations Peace Monument centrepiece design: Alabaster sphere (original concept); Solid tempered glass element (in collaboration with Niagara Falls glassblower Angelo Rossi); Hollow spiral bronze assembly (also rendered on a 3D printer, with individual cast bronze leaves brazed together).

Consistent with a lifetime of inspired architectural design and cutting-edge technical innovation, the First Nations Peace Monument continues Douglas Cardinal's tradition of drawing inspiration from the organic forms of the natural world and using technology to translate them into distinctive architectural and sculptural forms of singular beauty.

Brock University is in close proximity to the First Nations Peace Monument, and is connected to Decew House Heritage Park via the Brock loop of the Niagara Indigenous Heritage Trail, so visitors to the monument are able to make both an intellectual and a geographical connection to the site by means of walking trails and accessible pathways that join it to the Brock campus.

Sunflame was on display in the Brock University Library's Makerspace (Rankin Family Pavilion room RFP 203) from December 23, 2023 until September 30, 2024. Printed interpretive materials and a video installation were prepared by Makerspace staff.

Sincere thanks are extended to Derek Schneider and his colleagues at the Brock Makerspace for displaying, interpreting, transporting, and assisting with the installation of Sunflame in its permanent location at DeCew House Heritage Park.

The installation of the Sunflame sculpture in the centre of the First Nations Peace Monument took place at DeCew Heritage Park on September 30, 2024. Appropriately enough, the date was Canada's fourth National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Completion of this project acknowledges how the often uneasy relationship between Indigenous peoples and settlers can be galvanized into a powerful, sincere, and genuine allegiance to equitably pursue our collective shared interests.

It also fulfills Douglas Cardinal's vision of creating a common nexus for discussion, contemplation, and action for truth, reconciliation, and enduring peace.

The story of Phase I of the First Nations Peace Monument is chronicled on the website of the Friends of Laura Secord: