Peter George stands in front of the sign he created, and recently refurbished.

By Tommy Osborne

SD57 Sign

Man behind SD57’s sign leaves lasting legacy beyond beautiful art

Jun 5, 2025 | 5:41 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – School District 57 recently unveiled it’s refurbished sign at its main office. Originally designed 22 years ago by Indigenous artist Peter George, the sign went through a lot of wear and tear due to being exposed to the elements. However, it has now been restored to its former glory by George, and has protective glass so it will stay in pristine condition.

“This sign was an introduction to our history and culture 22 years ago. Still holds true today,” George said.

“It means a lot to us and our heart, and it feels a lot like calling your ancestors in here,” added SD57 Assistant Superintendent of Indigenous Education Pamela Spooner.

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George’s legacy with SD57 goes well beyond the sign he crafted, as he was actually a key figure in growing Indigenous education within the district. He explains when he got involved with SD57 22 years ago, it was initially quite a challenge to bring more Indigenous education to the classroom, although the effort was well worth it.

“There was several people ahead of me as far as teaching culture, language, and arts, but they were all fairly short lived. There were different rules to our system and colonial system, so things didn’t mesh as well,” George said.

“He did set the pathway for us, and I think every year we have trailblazers throughout our classrooms, throughout our schools, throughout our communities,” Spooner added

George had a long list of influential people he worked alongside in the years he’s been working on increasing Indigenous education, and one of them was former assistant superintendent Norm Monroe.

“(Norm was) instrumental in guiding the building up of culture, language, tradition, and art,” George said.

“There was a lot of trust back then, and the Elders put the trust on me as well. The only thing they asked is ‘do it right,’ which was actually a huge onus put on my shoulders, because I wasn’t just speaking for myself, I was speaking for all of the people from all of the clans and our ancestors,” George said.

What does it mean to do it right? It’s difficult to come to one objective answer, but Spooner believes it’s all about the approach.

“Doing things right, I think, is really calling in the ancestors who walked here before us,” Spooner said.

The 22 years of progress has been undeniable, but Spooner also added its important to continue working and building on the groundwork that George, and many others, have built.

“We are closing the graduation gap between Indigenous kids and non-Indigenous kids, but it’s still over a 20% gap though, which means we aren’t quite at parity yet. There’s still a lot of work to do when it comes to breaking down barriers,” Spooner said.

The refurbished sign stands once again to welcome staff and visitors alike to the office, but it’s also a symbol of SD57’s continuous commitment to Indigenous education.

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