Zoey Duncan
Ronald Momogeeshick Peters, resident artist at Camp Hill Farm in Rockland County, N.Y, happened to be checking his Facebook page when he came across a news article about a bear statue that had been found on the shore of the Seine River.
He read the story and realized it was a bear he had carved from Italian alabaster and buried “20 moons ago,” or about a year-and-a-half ago.
The bear, discovered last month by Cecilia Kabatay while she was out fishing, was an offering to the universe in honour of his name and the spirits, Peters said in a phone interview from Burlington, Ont.
He chose that particular spot to bury it because it formerly was a meeting space where totem ceremonies took place.
Peters said he’s buried “easily about a dozen others” in this area, some of which only are accessible through portaging routes.
Peters grew up along the Seine River, travelling with his family between Winnipeg and Thunder Bay and especially in the area that is now Quetico Provincial Park, and learning to live off the land.
The symbol of the bear has been significant for Peters since before he was born. When his grandfather was seven, he participated in a traditional ceremony where all the children his age were left at camp from the time the ice began to melt until it started to freeze again in fall.
When that cold weather came, his young grandfather was found with a bear cub, and he was known for that throughout his life.
Then when Peters was born at the hospital in Fort Frances, his skin was tinged blue, likely due to his small heart, he explained.
On the way home from the hospital, he was brought to the same spot where his grandfather was found with the bear cub all those years before. His grandfather performed a ceremony and gave Peters his name.
His grandmother also was an inspiration for his art. She buried more than 16,000 silver dollars during the family’s movements, Peters noted.
“She told me that, ‘That’s how you will know and that’s how you will prove we were here,’” he recalled.
Peters intentionally left his bear carving unsigned, which contributed to the air of mystery surrounding its discovery.
It’s a habit he developed following a meeting several years ago with world-renowned artist Salvador Dali.
“He said this thing about he was frustrated with how people bought his work simply because of his name and they weren’t looking at his work at all,” Peters said.
“So, as an artist I went that route where my signature’s really obscure.
“I want the artwork to stand for itself,” he stressed.
Peters said a lot of energy goes into making each bear. He would sell one like the Italian alabaster carving, which took about nine days to make, for $10,000-$12,000 but offers nearly every second one to the ground.
The one buried by the Seine River was his most recent offering.
He’s also buried bears in Buenos Aires and by the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, as well as in Vancouver and Cape Breton.
As for who might end up with the bear in their possession, Peters said it doesn’t bother him that it was found and is glad some his art is being enjoyed in Fort Frances.
