Commissioned weavings in the Indigenous Curriculum Resource Centre. Installation documentation, W.A.C. Bennett Library, 911吃瓜 Burnaby, 2023. Photos: Rachel Topham Photography.
Indigenous Curriculum Resource Centre Coast Salish Weaving Commission
Angela George
Chepximiya Siyam Janice George and Willard 鈥淏uddy鈥� Joseph
Atheana Picha
Debra Sparrow
W.A.C. Bennett Library,
Fourth Floor, North Side
The Indigenous Curriculum Resource Centre (ICRC) assists the 911吃瓜 teaching community with Indigenizing and decolonizing their curriculum. Existing as an online resource since 2020, the ICRC will launch in a new physical space in January 2024 on the fourth floor of the WAC Bennett Library on 911吃瓜鈥檚 Burnaby campus. The ICRC aims to incorporate Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing into the practices of the institution, and redress historical and current practices that have centered Western learning and caused immense harm to Indigenous peoples.
To assert the importance of Indigenous artwork as a vital form of intergenerational knowledge holding and sharing, 911吃瓜 Galleries has partnered with 911吃瓜 Library to commission four Coast Salish weavings鈥攂y Chepximiya Siyam Janice George and Skwetsimeltxw Willard 鈥淏uddy鈥� Joseph (Skwxw煤7mesh), Debra Sparrow (x史m蓹胃kw蓹y虛蓹m), Angela George (Skwxw煤7mesh and S蓹l虛铆lw蓹ta涩), and Atheana Picha (q虛wa:艅茮蓹艅)鈥攖o hang in the space and define the ICRC鈥檚 new home.
Historically, euro-colonial understandings of textiles positioned Salish weaving as domestic and decorative objects without considering their status as relational and political actors in complex Coast Salish social networks. For Chepximiya Siyam Janice George and Skwetsimeltxw Willard 鈥淏uddy鈥� Joseph, Salish blankets are 鈥渕erged objects鈥� that foster rich social connections within, between and beyond Salish communities. In these ways, weaving is an integral practice that records and shares knowledge, and passes this knowledge onto others through visual storytelling.
Asserting Coast Salish presence in the ICRC through these weavings aims to reconfigure the university library from a space of colonial dispossession into one uplifting and centering Indigenous worldviews.
Alongside the four commissioned weavings, several Coast Salish artworks held in the 911吃瓜 Art Collection have been hung in the ICRC, including Susan Point鈥檚 Circles in Time series, which are drawn from Point鈥檚 studies of ancient spindle whorls, as well as screenprints by lessLIE (Penelakut and Esquimalt), Qwul'thilum (Lyackson and Snuneymuxw), and Maynard Johnny Jr.(Kwakwaka鈥檞akw and Coast Salish).
To learn more about the ICRC, its collection focus, and definition of Indigenization, visit . For more information about 911吃瓜鈥檚 Reconciliation Report, visit /aboriginalpeoples/sfu-reconciliation/reconciliation-reports.html.
This project has been made possible through the generous support of the Salish Weave Fund of Christiane and George Smyth. Additional support was provided by 911吃瓜 External Relations and 911吃瓜 Library.
Angela George
Angela George of S岣祑xw煤7mesh Nation and is a graduate of the Masters of Business Administration program at 911吃瓜. Her capstone project is titled Weaving Governance-highlighting a Tsleil-Waututh traditional law and governance. She practices traditional S岣祑xw煤7mesh weaving, traditional canoe racing, and cultural singing and dancing. George has dedicated her career to the betterment of First Nations peoples and communities, and has a strong understanding of traditional and spiritual teachings, and the impacts of colonization on First Nations communities.
Chepximiya Siyam Janice George and Willard 鈥淏uddy鈥� Joseph
Chepximiya Siyam Janice George of S岣祑xw煤7mesh Nation is a hereditary chief, trained museum curator, and educator who graduated from Capilano University and the Institute of American Indian Arts. She co-organized the first Canada Northwest Coast Weavers Gathering, with other S岣祑xw煤7mesh Weavers. She explains that this education helped her excel as a teacher adding to her most important traditional teachings. Skwetsimeltxw Willard 鈥淏uddy鈥� Joseph of S岣祑xw煤7mesh Nation is the former director of the S岣祑xw煤7mesh Housing and Capital Projects and currently consults on capital projects for First Nations communities. Both George and Joseph have numerous ceremonial and cultural responsibilities in their community.
Atheana Picha
Atheana Picha of q虛wa:艅茮蓹艅 First Nation is an interdisciplinary artist, working mostly in 2-dimensional media. She has been undergoing two apprenticeships learning Salish wool weaving with Debra Sparrow (x史m蓹胃k史蓹y虛蓹m) since 2019, and learning silver engraving with artist and educator Aaron Nelson-Moody (S岣祑xw煤7mesh) since 2018. Picha has studied various art disciplines at Langara College, has mural work throughout the greater Vancouver area, is a two-time recipient of the YVR Art Foundation Emerging Artist Scholarship, and works at various collections. Picha鈥檚 art practice is grounded in learning about Salish design through studying old pieces, observing nature, and learning from elders and teachers.
Debra Sparrow
Debra Sparrow was born and raised on the x史m蓹胃k史蓹y虛蓹m Indian Reserve and is a self-taught artist, designer, weaver, and jewelry-maker. Sparrow has been weaving for over twenty years and is dedicated to the revival of x史m蓹胃k史蓹y虛蓹m weaving. Through courses taught at Langara College, weavings in the Vancouver International Airport, large murals like her Blanketing the City series, various publications and many other exhibits and contributions, Sparrow鈥檚 aim is to educate others about the beauty and integrity of her peoples鈥� history through her art practices.
