k̓ʷə səlilwətaɬ syəwenəɬ ct - Our Tsleil-Waututh Ancestors

First ancestors were bestowed upon us from the creator. Our first grandfather was raised by the four-legged, growing with our animal kin the takaya. Learning, adapting to the ways of the wild. He soon found he was a little different than the rest walking with the four legged, being forever grateful but yearning for the presence of another. He began to grieve the presence of a companion. This grief took over, he became hurt and distraught. For then he dove off cliff after cliff till one day, he dove, and swam to the very bottom of the ocean collecting sediment from our Mother Earth. With that sediment he took back to his camp and laid rest for the night in prayer, prayer for a companion he could grow with in hopes of love. Creator then had pity for this human. He gifted us our matriarch, the foundation to life. The most important piece to our puzzle… The gift of life. ̶ TsuKwalton ‘23 This artwork was commissioned for Burnaby City Hall to honour the relationship between the City of Burnaby and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation). Conceived as a carving in the style of a traditional Coast Salish house post, the work brings a two-sided wolf design in relief carving and metal. Designed as a marker for this civic and community space, the wolf is the emblem of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. About the Artist Jonas Jones (TsuKwalton) comes from the village of Átsnach (Tsleil-Waututh) with strong bloodlines running from Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) as well. He is grateful for teachers such as Ses Siyam (Ray Natraoro), who taught him to indulge within the Coast Salish laws of art, a system that is passed down from master carver to apprentice. He is honoured to be practicing this craft, as this foundation of art and way of life has been running through his blood for thousands of years. “To live and breathe a little piece of the old people, our swa7am (ancestors), is truly a beautiful thing.”