Flight (Spindle Whorl)
The world’s largest Coast Salish spindle whorl, honouring welcome and flight
xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam)
Susan Point · YVR International Terminal, Level 3 · Richmond, BC
xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) · Medium: Carving
The Work
Most people walk beneath it without knowing what they're looking at. Flight is a monumental work by Musqueam artist Susan Point, installed at Level 3 of the International Terminal. It is presented in a setting of water and stone — materials symbolic of this land — and rewards the traveller who stops to look up.
The spindle whorl is a traditional Coast Salish tool used in weaving — a small disc that spins fibre into thread. Susan Point has transformed that intimate domestic form into something vast. Flight is the largest Coast Salish spindle whorl ever created, its imagery drawn from traditional motifs reinterpreted at monumental scale.
At the centre of the design is the eagle — a symbol of power in Coast Salish culture — depicted around the image of a man with his arms raised, simultaneously welcoming arrivals and gesturing upward into flight. On the chests of the figures are salmon motifs, representing the Coast Salish people who have lived and fished along these shores since time immemorial.
Flight is paired with the large-scale weavings of Out of Silence nearby — a deliberate pairing of carving and weaving, two central art forms of Coast Salish culture, speaking together at the threshold of the country.
Know Before You Go
Located in the International Terminal, Level 3, Musqueam Welcome Area. Viewable from the main corridor — look up as you move through the space. Fully accessible. Take a few minutes to pause and experience the full scale of the work.
All three xʷməθkʷəy̓əm YVR works share this access route. Starting your Trail visit at YVR? The Welcome Figures are your first step. The Gathering Place in Domestic Arrivals is your fourth.
CONTINUE THE TRAIL
→ Out of Silence · Krista Point et al. · YVR International Terminal, Level 3 · 0 km
→ xʷməθkʷəy̓əm Welcome Figures · Susan Point · Canada Customs Hall, Level 2 · 0.2 km
→ xʷməθkʷəy̓əm Gathering Place · Journey Canoe · Domestic Arrivals, Level 2 · 0.3 km
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Female Welcome Figure
First Welcome Trail
In Musqueam culture, Welcome Figures welcome visitors to our territory. The original poles were house posts and placed at the entrances of our house - right at the doorway inviting you in, welcoming you. Located behind the Vancouver School Board in public plaza.
Serpent Slayer - Welcome Pole
Public Art
At Belcarra Regional Park, on the shores of Burrard Inlet, stands a welcome pole carved by Tsleil-Waututh master carver TsuKwalton (Jonas Jones). It carries one of the Nation's most powerful origin stories — of a young boy swept away by seals, raised in the sea kingdom, and returned to his people as a warrior who could face what no one else could. This is his territory. This is where that story happened. The pole brings it back to the shore where it belongs.
“Return of the Orca” Welcome pole
Public Art
Return of the Orca” Welcome pole at Whey-ah-Wichen (Cates Park) in North Vancouver, carved by TsuKwalton Jonas Jones. the Return of the Orca carries the story of Great Chief wacəq II, whose deep relationship with the salmon and the natural world continues to guide Tsleil-Waututh teachings today.
