Forest of stakes outside the Boons’ farm; photo courtesy of Darcy Shawchek.
The Stakes in the Peace campaign began when I heard that BC Hydro was drilling on Ken and Arlene Boon’s property in preparation for the Site C dam on the Peace River. Most of this work was way ahead of schedule and unnecessary; a form of bullying leaders of the resistance to Site C. I thought, if they Boons are getting drilled, we can pound a stake outside our house, too. So Claire and I pounded a yellow stake into the ground, then posted a photo.
Claire & I pounding in our first stake in solidarity with the Boons last summer outside our place in Wells, BC.
Wendy Holm and others took this idea and transformed it into a brilliant solidarity campaign in which people (singly or in groups) could pay $100 to have their name on a yellow stake outside the Boons. It took off, and now there are over 600 stakes forming a forest of solidarity which has raised over $60,000 towards legal costs for resistance to Site C.
In the group exhibition Disturbances in the Field (the inaugural exhibition at the Omineca Arts Centre, ) I have made two pieces about Site C, one of which is a 15″ x 48″ terracotta version of the real field, plus seven inch tall yellow stakes, all hand silkscreened with stakeinthepeace.com and various anti-Site C hashtags. I’ve made about 600 stakes 😉
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- Silkscreen platen jig for printing four stakes at once, each with two URLs – to be cut in half after printing.
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- One of the jigs for printing the second side; these are in Dane-zaa and Cree with English translations.
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- Freshly printed stakes drying on the rack before printing the second side.
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- Cutting stakes at the kitchen table, one by one.
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- Screen printing stakes with water based ink.
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- Testing out stakes’ ability to stand when inserted in terracotta clay – works fine!
All the stakes had stakeinthepeace.com on one side, with Cree, Dane-zaa or various hashtags on the other side.
At the opening on Friday, May 12, I began inserting the stakes (short video here). People attending had the opportunity to put their own stake in the Peace for a minimum donation of $5 (all funds will go to the stakeinthepeace.com campaign). For anyone outside Prince George who’d like to participate, they can contribute via the PayPal button below.
Slab of terracotta to simulate the field at the Boons – ready for staking out! Photo courtesy of Caitlin Chaisson.
“Stakes in the Peace” (silkscreened wood, terracotta, reclaimed fir; approximately 48” x 16”) after the opening night.
In the course of the exhibition, we raised enough money to pay for six actual stakes at the Boons, thanks to the contributions of many generous people.
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- Kate from Ft St John plants the first stakes.
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- Getting started.
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- Early in the process.
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- Stakes in the mid-section part way through the opening night.
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- Kym Gouchie behind her stake that reads, “our children will use the Peace River in the future.”
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- Khast’an Drummers singing and drumming at the opening.
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- Claire inserts a stake for her mother Ann for Mother’s Day.
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- Closeup.
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- View from above.
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- View from one end, near the end of the opening night.
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- Closeup from one end of the terracotta “field”.
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- Caitlin & Claire check out the field of stakes.
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- Our Curator, Caitlin Chaisson, behind the field of stakes.
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- In my mamahtâwisîpiy shirt (Cree translation courtesy of Art Napoleon).
The clay has now hardened and dried, so it’s no longer possible to insert mini-stakes in the “field”. But it will still be possible for people in the Prince George area to buy stakes to take home to plant in their own gardens, potted plants, cactus gardens, terrariums, etc. (If you live outside Prince George, feel free to contact me through the “About & Contact” page on this site; I might be able to mail you a stake or two 😉
We have set a minimum suggested donation via PayPal @ $5.00 
(PayPal will display Amazing Space Studio & Gallery ~ William Horne ~ Reference: Stake in the Peace donation.)
Mini-stakes return home; terracotta has dried and cracked.
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- Closeup of mini-stakes in dried, cracked terracotta.
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- Closeup of mini-stakes in dried, cracked terracotta.
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- Closeup of mini-stakes in dried, cracked terracotta.
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- Closeup of mini-stakes in dried, cracked terracotta.
Thanks to: Caitlin Chaisson, Curator, for her enthusiasm and support; Denis Gutiérrez-Ogrinc for photodocumentation; John Howarth for plinth construction; Khast’an drummers for performing at the opening & Kym Gouchie for welcoming all to Lheidli T’enneh territory; Claire Kujundzic for all-round support, including technical; Denise Dauvin for hospitality; Randy Hadland for feedback; Yvonne Tupper for the hashtags; Art Napoleon for the Cree translation; Verena Hofmann and Treaty 8 for the Dane-zaa translation; the peoples of the Peace for their courage and persistence in the face of adversity.
Online donors:
Anne Kelly, Rita Neighbor, Holly & Julie (Vancouver), RanD Hadland, Elizabeth & Aashima Mathias, Gail Noonan, Colette Chisholm in memory of Joe A Chisholm, Jennifer Iredale, Caitlin Chaisson. Thanks, everyone!
The Far Afield blog:
Curator Caitlin Chaisson has posted photos, thoughts and observations online. Here are two posts about the mini-stakes, here and here. Thank-you, Caitlin 😉