The Lil’wat Story Pole Sqātsza7 Tmicw – Father Land, a twenty-foot cedar carving by Líl̓wat Artist Ed Archie NoiseCat now stands in the Great Hall at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre (SLCC).

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.

The SLCC hosted Líl̓wat Artist Ed Archie NoiseCat for an Artists Talk on Friday, April 22, 2022, for the Story Pole Sqātsza7 Tmicw – Father Land, the twenty-foot cedar carving in the Great Hall of the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre.  On June 23, 2022, the Sqātsza7 Tmicw – Father Land story pole received an awakening ceremony with a public gathering in the Great Hall of the SLCC with NoiseCat in attendance.

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.

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.

Download Press Release: SQĀTSZA7 TMICW FATHER LAND STORY POLE AWAKENING CEREMONY (Event was rescheduled to June 23, 2022)

Financial support gratefully received from the following sponsors:

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

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.

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