The Awen Gathering Circle, just completed last week, has been vandalized.
More than one of the posts was tagged over the weekend, with a rude image scrawled in one spot and scribbles in another.
According to the town’s communications officer, Jennett Mays, the graffiti has been addressed, but the incident may fast-track a decision to install surveillance on site. When Dean Collver, director of parks, recreation and culture, first applied to council for funding for the project, he mentioned surveillance was a long-term goal for the site.
The Awen Gathering Circle officially opened on Sept. 7 with a ceremony involving local Indigenous representatives, the architects involved in site design, members of the United Steelworkers Union who volunteered to complete the landscaping and helped with the project from the start, and town staff and council. The ceremony included a performance by an Indigenous band and dancers as well as a tobacco pipe ceremony and ribbon cutting.
"I'm gratified that a number of residents reported [the graffiti] and I received upset emails from people who had observed the damage,” said Collver. “It showed me that the community is looking after this space."
