Culture at the Centre

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Nusi, Ian Reid (Heiltsuk), “Masmasalanua Mask,” 2009 (MOA 2768/1; photo by Jessica Bushey)

The people of the Musqueam First Nation near the mouth of the Fraser River are often associated with salmon, although they traditionally caught other fish, including large, bottom-feeding sturgeon. They used remarkable harpoons, each equipped with an eagle feather that signalled the presence of a fish without scaring it off. It took great knowledge and skill to make a harpoon – and to successfully spear a sturgeon.

A 32-foot harpoon, laboriously recreated in 2014 by Musqueam artist, councillor and knowledge keeper Morgan Guerin, is one of many fascinating works in Culture at the Centre, a groundbreaking collaborative exhibition that brings together five Indigenous cultural centres from across British Columbia. On view until October at the UBC Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, the show offers visitors a firsthand appreciation of the cultural complexity of British Columbia’s First Nations.

Such knowledge was almost lost under years of colonial rule and residential schooling that sought to erase Indigenous languages and culture. Many communities are now relearning traditional ways, piecing together knowledge from elders, archival objects and historical writings and drawings. It’s an immense task that includes repatriating ancestral belongings from museums around the world, linking cultural objects to stories and teachings, and revitalizing languages and artistic practice.

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Squamish-Lil’wat Cultural Centre in Whistler, B.C.

Six nations are participating in the show, but only five centres are represented because the Squamish and Lil’wat share the Squamish-Lil’wat Cultural Centre in Whistler. Along with the Musqueam Cultural Education and Resource Centre in Vancouver, other participants are the Heiltsuk Cultural Education Centre in Bella Bella, the Nisga’a Museum in the village of Laxgalts'ap, and the Haida Gwaii Museum and Haida Heritage Centre at Kay Llnagaay. Collectively, they represent territories scattered from Vancouver to the Nass River, south of the Alaska Panhandle.

Jill Baird, a curator at the Museum of Anthropology, underlines the project’s goals. “By bringing these groups together in a single space for the first time, we aim to show the kind of research they undertake, the types of cultural activities they support to make social connections, the way they communicate their history, teach and mentor youth, as well as ensure the scope of knowledge is fully understood and inseparable from land, language and culture.”

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Matilda Jim (Lil’wat), basket, circa 1900-1950 (MOAA6705; photo by Derek Tan)

Objects on display include a Lil’wat basket made from cedar root, canary grass and cherry bark by Matilda Jim; a carved cedar pole, Welcome Figure, made in 1981 by Nisga’a artist Norman Tait; and a Haida spruce root hat (circa 1890) woven by Isabella Edenshaw and painted by Charles Edenshaw.

There’s also a Masmasalanua mask by Heiltsuk artist Nusi, also known as Ian Reid. He created the mask on the creation story of Masmasa’lano, who came from the sky at Bella Coola and canoed all the straits and channels along the way to Bella Bella, bringing the gift of carving.

A circular bank of video monitors shows 10 short films that include interviews about the importance of cultural centres as repositories for knowledge and objects that hold particular meaning.

As the metaphorical torch is handed from elders to new generations, cultures survive and grow. This is exemplified by a 2014 sketch of a mythical two-headed serpent by Guerin’s daughter, Suzanne. It’s placed beside a 1983 print, Two Headed Serpent, by renowned Musqueam artist Susan Point. ■

Culture at the Centre is on display at the UBC Museum of Anthropology from March 18 to October 8, 2018.