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Michael Thomas statue location upsets Mi'kmaq confederacy

Michael Thomas statue location upsets Mi'kmaq confederacy

The P.E.I. Mi'kmaq Confederacy is expressing its concern that a statue memorializing one of a native athlete is being set up near a sewage lagoon.

The Town of Stratford is about to install a statue dedicated to Mi'kmaq athlete Michael Thomas. Born in 1885, Thomas is considered by many to be the best long-distance runner P.E.I. has ever produced.

The bronze statue will show Thomas running, with one foot on a large boulder. It will be placed in a small waterfront park, near where the Mi'kmaq athlete's home once stood.

But a group that represents Island Mi'kmaq says the statue is too close to the town's sewage lagoons.

"All the good work done by the town of Stratford in memorializing Mr. Thomas will be undone by the optics of having a sludge bag and a sewage lagoon in the background," said Don MacKenzie, executive director of the P.E.I. Mi'kmaq Confederacy.

Stratford Counc. Diane Griffin said she is surprised by the complaint. After council voted recently on the site, she said they heard the confederacy had concerns, but she said no one called her.

MacKenzie says when the confederacy received formal confirmation the statue was going to be placed by the sewage lagoon, they took the matter to their board of directors. "Chief Brian Francis and Chief Matilda Ramjattan on behalf of the Confederacy sent a formal letter to the mayor and town expressing concern," said MacKenzie.

"It's been followed up with emails and phone conversations and requests for a meeting to see if the town might reconsider."

The $140,000 statue is being funded in part by PEI 2014 Inc., so the project must be finished on time.

"We will lose at least $30,000 if we only put the statue in a temporary place and not its permanent place," said Griffin.

Griffin said it's unlikely council will move the site. She noted the town plans to remove the lagoons within 10 years. For now they're planting trees and shrubs to screen the lagoons from the park.

The town plans an unveiling Oct. 18, and has invited some of Michael Thomas's descendants from out of province.

The Mi'kmaq Confederacy has arranged a last-minute meeting with the town on Wednesday.