Â鶹ÊÓƵ

Artist Barbara Paterson’s cast bronze statue depicts Alexander Cameron Rutherford (1857-1941) and Henry Marshall Tory (1864-1947), the two founders of the Â鶹ÊÓƵ. Rutherford (seated) served as Alberta’s first premier, and Tory (standing) as the Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s first president. Commissioned by the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Alumni Association in celebration of their 100th anniversary, the statue was donated to the university in 2015. A recipient of the Alumni Award from the Â鶹ÊÓƵ, Paterson’s work can be seen in public venues around the world, including Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

While the statue presents a conversation between the two university founders about the location of the proposed university, there is a deeper, layered history that the statue overlooks. The map held by Rutherford depicts a section of land marked with the number 5, which would become the future home of the Â鶹ÊÓƵ. This map illustrates the presence of Métis river lots and specifically marks River Lot 5, along the south bank of the North Saskatchewan River. River Lot 5 was also a place where the Laurent Garneau family lived, played and made a living. River lots were included in the 1882 Dominion of Canada Survey for the settlement of Edmonton, Northwest Territories. The statue, however, provides limited visual information on who was present on the land and suggests that it was uninhabited before the university’s establishment. The history of these lands, prior to European contact in western Canada, included Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Dene, Néhiyaw (Cree) and Stoney Nakoda Nations. There would have been agreements or treaties in place between these Nations around sharing of the land. In essence, the statue simplifies the layered history of the land and points to the erasure of First Nations presence, of Treaty Six (signed in 1876) history, and the disenfranchisement of the Papaschase Cree Nation and their reserve (No. 136) lands.

Large statues such as “The Visionaries” serve to publicly affirm the history and authority of those who are portrayed in the work. Although intended to celebrate the institutional founding of the Â鶹ÊÓƵ, the statue brings to light the importance of acknowledging Indigenous Peoples and lands, and the way complex and layered histories are remembered and commemorated on campus. This is the endeavour of the people who continue to work and study at the Â鶹ÊÓƵ today. 

Further Reading

To learn more about this artwork, the land, and policies at the Â鶹ÊÓƵ, you can consult these resources:

• Braiding Past, Present and Future: The Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s Indigenous Strategic Plan
• Museums and Collections Policy
• Â鶹ÊÓƵ's TRC Report to Community
• Treaty Six Backgrounder
• Murphy, Margaret-Anne. “,” Verges: Germanic and Slavic Studies Review, 2020.
• Smith, P.J. "." The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Article published March 24, 2006; Last Edited May 16, 2023.
• Thompson, Connor., September 9, 2020.
•  [cartographic material]
• : Edmonton City as Museum Project (ECAMP) Initiative of the Edmonton Heritage Council