05 Apr PRESS RELEASE: Sqātsza7 Tmicw – Father Land: Story Pole Awakening Ceremony

NEW DATE FOR THE AWAKENING CEREMONY:

Join us on Thursday, June 23rd, at 2 pm, for the Awakening Ceremony for the great story pole Sqātsza7Tmicw – Father Land in the Great Hall.

We raise our hands to CIBC for offering FREE ADMISSION from June 21 – July 3 as part of the National Indigenous Peoples Day Celebrations for 2022.

In respect for Lil’wat Nation, the format of April 22nd, 2pm event changed to an Artists Talk. Following protocol, no ceremony took place and the pole awakening was rescheduled until June 23. The SLCC joins our Lil’wat families in mourning the loss of Elder Rosalin Sam. She was a great leader and important person to many of the staff and board members, and her guidance will be missed deeply. We honour Elder Sam as she begins her journey.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 5, 2022, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and Líl̓wat7úl Territory (Whistler, BC) – The Story Pole Sqātsza7 Tmicw – Father Land, a twenty-foot cedar carving by Líl̓wat Artist Ed Archie NoiseCat will receive an awakening ceremony in the Great Hall at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre (SLCC) on April 22nd, 2-5pm, 2022.

In 2020, the SLCC hosted a solo-artist exhibition – Sqātsza7 Tmicw – Father Land, featuring a collection of art pieces celebrating the lifetime achievements of the multi-disciplinary artist, Seattle-based artist Ed Archie NoiseCat, NoiseCat’s first exhibit on his father’s traditional territory.

The exhibition culminated in this carving of a twenty-foot story pole as part of the exhibit and permanent collection. The Sqātsza7 Tmicw – Father Land, story pole represents this land, Ed NoiseCat’s father’s land, on the Líl̓wat territory. It is the story of the old growth cedar that this artwork is made from. It is the story of the Thunderbird and Black Tusk, and how this territory became a shared territory with the Squamish Nation. It is the story of how a spirit called “Black crawler” brought the Woman’s warrior song to Ed’s Auntie Martina Pierre during a sweat ceremony. It is the Bear dancer wearing a bone and trade bead breastplate. He holds a frog rattle in his right hand and an eagle wing fan in his left. All of this, carved in red and yellow cedar, standing on a 900 lb block of basalt, local to Líl̓wat territory.

“Sqātsza7 Tmicw represents THIS land. My father’s land. This territory that is the home of the Peters family from Samahquam and Ts̓zil. The home of Nkasusa, Chief Harry Peters, my great grandfather. The home land of my father, Ray Peters,” says NoiseCat. “Sqātsza7 Tmicw means Father land.”

Deep themes of fatherhood and family are woven through this historic story pole. The project included the apprenticeship of SLCC Ambassador and young Líl̓wat Artist Q̓áwam̓ Redmond Andrews, whose father is the late master carver Lhalqw Bruce Edmonds whose selections of his work can be found inside the SLCC. Q̓áwam̓ is also recognized in the story pole, with NoiseCat featuring the young Líl̓wat artist as the face of the bear dancer.

“My work is inspired by the stories that comprise my life,” shares NoiseCat, “the people, tricksters, tragedies and triumphs of the Indigenous experience.” NoiseCat works in various media, including wood, bronze, silver, gold, glass, print and more.

After a lifetime of living and practicing art in the United States, and a long absence during border closures, the SLCC is proud to celebrate Líl̓wat artist Ed Archie NoiseCat return to his father’s traditional territory, and that of Líl̓wat artist Q̓áwam̓ Redmond Andrews.

On Friday April 22nd, 2022 at 2pm, the Sqātsza7 Tmicw – Father Land story pole will be awakened ceremoniously with a public gathering in the Great Hall of the SLCC. NoiseCat will be in attendance. The public is welcome to come enjoy the drumming, bear dancing, and other Líl̓wat offerings. Entry to the awakening ceremony and museum admission is free or by donation from 1pm.

The Sqātsza7 Tmicw – Father Land pole has been made possible through the generous support of Whistler Blackcomb Foundation, First People’s Cultural Council, BC Arts Council and the Province of BC.

Guests are encouraged to join in the evening at the Spo7ez Winter Feast from 5:30-9pm – to celebrate the spirit of the Skw̲xw̲ú7mesh and Lílw̓at7úl, a cultural-infused shared feast and performance. To learn more and buy tickets in advance, visit slcc.ca/feast

About Ed Archie NoiseCat

Salish and Líl̓wat artist Ed Archie NoiseCat grew up in British Columbia’s remote, mountainous interior with his mother’s people, the Canim Lake Band of Shuswap Indians. He draws inspiration from his mother’s plateau culture, and from his father’s people, the Líl̓wat.

Trained as a master printmaker at the prestigious Emily Carr College of Art & Design, NoiseCat’s vision was then distilled by experience as a fine art lithographer in New York and Boston before beginning his exploration as a contemporary artist of monumental sculpture, working in mixed multimedia including works in glass, wood, steel, silver and gold.

His pieces are in public and private collections, including the Sqātsza7 Tmicw – Father Land collection at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre, and the National Museum of the American Indian, in Washington, D.C. His portfolio of monumental works includes a portrait mask of Taoyateduta, or Chief Little Crow, in Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1986, NoiseCat graduated from the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver then moved to New York to work as a lithographer for world-renowned Tyler Graphics, producing prints for Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein and other legends of contemporary art.

Huy Chexw (thank you) Wa Chexw Yuu (take care) – Squamish Language
Kukw`stumc`kalap (Thank-you all) – Lil’wat Language

MEDIA CONTACT

Nadija Veach, Marketing Manager, Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre
nadija.veach@slcc.ca | M: 604.964.0990 | D: 604.964.0995
I: slccwhistler | FB: slccwhistler

About Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre (SLCC)

Spo7ez Cultural Centre and Community Society is a registered Canadian charity and the first centre of its kind in Canada. The Squamish and Lil’wat Nations came together to celebrate and share our cultures with the world while creating meaningful employment opportunities for members of both nations. By sharing where we are from and where we are going, our visitors acquire a greater understanding of our Nations and the shared territories that Whistler resides upon. www.slcc.ca

Download Press Release: SQĀTSZA7 TMICW FATHER LAND STORY POLE AWAKENING CEREMONY

SqAtsza7 Tmicw’ – Father Land

Story Pole Artists Talk

Friday April 22nd, 2022, 2-3pm

Join Líl̓wat Artist Ed Archie NoiseCat for an Artists Talk – of the Story Pole Sqātsza7 Tmicw – Father Land, the twenty-foot cedar carving in the Great Hall of the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre.

Great Hall
2 pm Welcome/Friendship Song, and Speeches

Location:
Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre
4584 Blackcomb Way, Whistler

Entry to the Artists Talk and museum admission is free or by donation from 1pm.

Financial support gratefully received from the following sponsors:

First Peoples Cultural Council
Whistler Blackcomb Foundation
British Columbia Arts Council
Province of British Columbia

To learn more about the story of this pole and the Artist visit: slcc.ca/exhibits/twenty-foot-cedar-pole-carving/

Spo7ez Winter Feast

Friday April 22nd, 2022, 5:30-9pm – SOLD OUT

Join us to celebrate the spirit of the Skw̲xw̲ú7mesh and Lílw̓at7úl, a cultural-infused shared feast and performance.

To learn more and buy tickets in advance, visit slcc.ca/feast