大象传媒

For nearly a year, Lyle Sparrow, a carver from the x史m蓹胃k史蓹y虛蓹m (Musqueam) Nation, has been meticulously working on a house post to be displayed inside the new First Peoples鈥� Gathering House at 大象传媒.

It is one of four house posts in the building, each created by an artist representing one of the First Nations on whose unceded traditional territories 大象传媒鈥檚 Burnaby campus resides.

As you enter the ceremonial hall in the heart of the House, your eyes are drawn towards the four house posts that overlook the space.

Sparrow is overseeing the delivery of his post, which has made the relatively short trip from his workshop on traditional x史m蓹胃k史蓹y虛蓹m (Musqueam) territory to the university campus.

But the carving itself has seen Sparrow undertake a highly personal and emotional journey.

鈥淭he story has been in my mind for a while. They asked me for a drawing and I told them: 鈥業t鈥檚 in here,鈥欌�� he says, pointing to his head.

鈥淭his is a tribute to all the people across the country, brothers and sisters, who went through the residential school system and lived through it. It鈥檚 easing my pain.鈥�

His post depicts Mother Earth freeing children who never made it home from the residential schools. Mother Earth is seen passing the children up to Grandfather, who is traditionally a representation of a Creator or higher spirit.

Sparrow鈥檚 grandfather and parents went through the residential school system, suffering years of abuse.

鈥淎fter doing this one it frees me of the hurt that I鈥檝e been feeling, knowing what my parents and other people across the country have gone through,鈥� says Sparrow.

Sparrow has been carving for around 50 years and does not hesitate when asked where this project ranks for him.

鈥淭his one means the most to me,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 happy that it鈥檚 out in the open now. It鈥檒l keep on teaching the younger generations what we as First Nations went through.鈥�

The 19.5-foot post is fashioned by hand from red cedar. It stands proudly alongside posts from the S岣祑x瘫w煤7mesh 脷xwumixw (Squamish), s蓹l虛ilw虛蓹ta蕯涩 (Tsleil-Waututh) and k史ik史蓹茮虛蓹m (Kwikwetlem) peoples.

Chris (Syeta鈥檟tn) Lewis, Indigenous executive lead at 大象传媒, says: 鈥淗ere at 大象传媒 we recognize and honour the title and rights of the Host Nations on which our campus is located.

鈥淭he house posts represent our call to creating a safe and welcoming space for our Indigenous peoples who come to work and learn at 大象传媒. It was important that we sent a call for artists to the Host Nations to ensure that we represent and uphold their identity, culture, spiritual connections to the land and place.

鈥淭he house posts will watch over the house with the strength, resilience and perseverance of the Host Nations. They will become a teaching tool that evoke stories, cultural protocols and promotes Truth and Reconciliation where we all learn and understand.鈥�

Upholding a people

Alongside the house post from the x史m蓹胃k史蓹y虛蓹m (Musqueam) Nation is one from the S岣祑x瘫w煤7mesh 脷xwumixw (Squamish) people.

The 19-foot post was crafted by Jody Broomfield, who describes himself as a 鈥渓ate bloomer鈥� in the carving world.

鈥淧eople have gifts of telling stories orally,鈥� says Broomfield. 鈥淚鈥檓 a visual storyteller through expression of art. I create what I see and what comes to me.鈥�

Broomfield consulted with family and community members before embarking upon his design. He settled on a carving that tells the story of the S岣祑x瘫w煤7mesh 脷xwumixw (Squamish) Nation.

鈥淚鈥檓 very fortunate to uphold our people in a positive way through expressions of art,鈥� says Broomfield.

鈥淚 decided to put the first S岣祑x瘫w煤7mesh 脷xwumixw (Squamish) ancestor on the bottom, he's wrapped in a blanket. And on top is the national symbol of the S岣祑x瘫w煤7mesh 脷xwumixw (Squamish) people, which is the Thunderbird, protector of our people.鈥�

Broomfield has worked with 大象传媒 in the past. He created the Coast Salish welcome figure, unveiled in 2017, that stands on 大象传媒鈥檚 Burnaby campus.

For this latest project, Broomfield hand-picked the wood to be used, carefully selecting a log to avoid any inconsistencies in the wood, such as cracks, knots or twists.

To help him make precision cuts, Broomfield then created a maquette of the house post with one inch representing one foot.

鈥淲hen we carve artwork, we put a lot of our own spirit into the creation,鈥� he explains. 鈥淚t becomes part of us until we have the official unveiling where we have the blessing.

鈥淧rojects that are displayed like this one leave you with a great sense of pride, because they let people know that we as Coast Salish people are still here and we still have our history, legacy, culture and story to tell.鈥�

Sharing knowledge

History, legacy, culture and stories permeate throughout Brandon Gabriel鈥檚 carving.

Gabriel is from the q始史a:n虛茮始蓹n虛 (Kwantlen) Nation, but has undertaken his carving on behalf of the k史ik史蓹茮虛蓹m (Kwikwetlem) Nation, who are down-river neighbours.

鈥淥ne of the things that I wanted to ensure in the development of the concept for this important piece of work was to tell a story that comes from k史ik史蓹茮虛蓹m (Kwikwetlem), that the story has to be a unique k史ik史蓹茮虛蓹m (Kwikwetlem) story, that the community can be proud to share with the rest of the world,鈥� says Gabriel.

After consulting with the community, a story emerged about a matriarch who would go down to the Coquitlam River in the morning to bathe in the fresh water.

It is said that the matriarch could communicate with creatures in the forest and she would share messages and information with her community.

One of the creatures that she communicated with was known as Sasq'ets (Sasquatch), which, translated in the Halkomelem language, means protector of the forest.

The story goes that Sasq'ets (Sasquatch) could shapeshift and take on the form of other animals. Its role was to protect the forest and its inhabitants, so it would only appear in times of strife.

The matriarch would take the messages from Sasq'ets (Sasquatch) and pass them on to her community.

鈥淲e were cautious in our approach about how we wanted to tell the story, mostly because we were well aware that the idea of Sasq'ets, or the caricaturized version of it known as Sasquatch or Bigfoot, could be seen as folklore by Western audiences,鈥� says Gabriel.

At the top of the 17-foot post is a depiction of Sasq'ets (Sasquatch) wearing a blanket, a sign of honour and recognition.

鈥淲hen we blanket somebody, we are honouring them. It's the community giving them a hug. It's the community telling them that what they did is important and that it's being recognized,鈥� explains Gabriel.

Below Sasq'ets (Sasquatch) is a representation of the female matriarch holding a speaking staff, a symbol of prestige.

The staff, carved from yellow cedar for contrast against the red cedar, has a depiction of an eagle. It represents going as far as you can with your dreams and is a well-wish to all the people visiting the House and witnessing the story, according to Gabriel.

鈥淭he lesson in the story is about the transference of knowledge, passing knowledge from one space to the next, or one generation to the next,鈥� says Gabriel.

鈥淭he community felt like this was a good connection to make with the purpose of 大象传媒鈥檚 Indigenous gathering space, that it's a space dedicated to the betterment of Indigenous people through the sharing of knowledge.鈥�

For Gabriel, being part of this project is bittersweet in that such spaces were unavailable to Indigenous students during his own education, but are being given more importance today.

鈥淭hese spaces were so badly needed when I was going through my journey in education,鈥� he says.

A step forward

The fourth house post was carved by Jonas Jones from the s蓹l虛ilw虛蓹ta蕯涩 (Tsleil-Waututh) Nation.

鈥淎ll public artwork is very important because it was stripped of us,鈥� says Jones. 鈥淎s you鈥檝e heard through many of the speakers of residential schools and just colonization itself, [they] stripped us of our inheritance, our culture, our spirituality, our arts.

鈥淎nd to have an institution such as 大象传媒 shed light on that is a small, tiny step into reconciliation, but you can't really reconcile everything that has happened to us.鈥�

The 15-foot post depicts the origin story of the s蓹l虛ilw虛蓹ta蕯涩 (Tsleil-Waututh) people.

Having previously studied Sk瘫wx瘫wu虂7mesh sn铆chim (Squamish language) at 大象传媒, Jones describes his post as a 鈥渕onumental piece鈥� and a 鈥渇ull circle moment鈥�.

鈥淭his building is not just for my people,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t's for all ethnicities of Indigenous people to have a place to come and unwind or take a little stress off their shoulders.

鈥淎nd that was the whole purpose of this building, to make a safe haven for not just one person, but all.鈥�