EQUITY FOUNTAIN

Location: Hill Park, Helena, Montana
Client: Equity Fountain Project
Collaborator: Michael Stutz (sculptor)
Graphics: Claudia Chalberg
Fabricator: Maine Millstones

After ascending three steps, visitors enter a welcoming space surrounded by trees. Their eyes are captivated by a glimmering sphere that seemingly floats above the rippling water of a granite millstone fountain. Words in English and Native Chippewa language are "woven" into the sphere, to remind the community that we must be steadfast like a turning millstone in ensuring that society is guided by values that unite us as opposed to divide us. The Chippewa words represent the Teachings of the Seven Grandfathers, a value system present in many Native American cultures. The artwork replaced a fountain that had been installed by a chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1916.