Turns out a concrete structure that was being used as a bulletin board at a St. Vital skate park is actually a monument to Louis Riel.

The monument was originally put up in 1979, but it was forgotten, and deteriorated. St. Vital councillor Brian Mayes said he noticed it in July 2015.

"It was kind of overgrown, it was tilted about 30 degrees or so, and I discovered it when we were announcing funding for the skate park over there. I said to somebody, 'What is that thing?' and the paint had peeled off and there were all these skateboard notices, and whoever I talked to said, 'It's some kind of monument, there's a plaque on it,'" said Mayes.

The city spent $10,000 refurbishing the monument, and yesterday a rededication ceremony was held at the St. Vital Arena, where the monument stands. One of the people on hand for the ceremony was the sculpture's creator, Randy Ranville. He thanked the city, the Metis people, and Coun. Brian Mayes for not giving up on the project.

"It (was) a beautiful dream back in '79 to be able to do this, and today I'm reliving it," said Ranville.

The monument depicts two doves embracing. Ranville said at the time he made it he was studying Riel and Manitoba's history.

"I know that Riel was struggling between the original French and English, and so I saw most of his work (as) trying to make peace between the two... If they were living in peace, or that was his goal, this is where the doves came to my mind," said Ranville.

Ranville calls the monument one of his greatest pieces of art.