A new statue was put in place in Redband Park in Spokane on Wednesday. Redband Park was formerly known as Glover Park in Peaceful Valley.
The statue is of a redband trout, a native fish of the Spokane River.
Sponsors of the project included the city of Spokane, Spokane Indians baseball team, TC Energy, Spokane Tribe, and the Spokane River Forum.
The forum’s Andy Dunau says the "Redband Rising" statue is designed to call attention to the fish, which has been in decline for many years.
“Right now it's mostly about awareness, and really creating that cultural connection with the tribes, and our heritage, which has mostly gotten lost over the years, since the dams came in and the salmon can’t get up the river anymore. So we're just trying to raise awareness that we need a cleaner river, and we need to encourage the type of projects that encourage the restoration and survival of redband trout,” Dunau said.
Metal artist Chris Anderson, who is in the Guinness Book of World Records for a metal sculpture he did in Texas, says he spent four months crafting the fish.
“It’s probably the biggest stainless steel piece I built, and so there was some learning with the amount of grinding that I did. Then it’s heating and pounding and a bunch of grinding, it’s pretty labor intensive. But this is one of a kind. There’s no molds or anything for it,” Anderson said.
An interpretive display featuring information on the redband trout will be put in place near the statue next spring.
