Coast Salish House Posts
Salmon house posts honouring Coast Salish Nations and future generations
xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam)
The Coast Salish Welcome Arches at Burnaby Village Museum were created by Chrystal Sparrow (Musqueam) as a continuous and living installation honouring the Indigenous Nations whose lands intersect in this territory.
The design features four carved salmon figures integrated into house posts, each representing:
Musqueam
Squamish
Tsleil-Waututh
Other Indigenous communities connected through these lands
In Coast Salish culture, salmon is a revered life source, central to community survival, ceremony and teaching. Each salmon is accompanied by roe imagery, symbolizing continuity, renewal and the prosperity of future generations. The placement of salmon within the house posts evokes the act of welcoming—acknowledging all who enter while rooting the space firmly in Indigenous protocol and presence.
This is an ongoing installation series at Burnaby Village Museum, reflecting a growing and evolving relationship between the site and Musqueam artists and cultural knowledge keepers.
Indigenous Tourism BC acknowledges that it is situated on operates on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam Indian Band), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation).
