Cedar lies at the heart of SANCTUARY: The Ancient Forest Experience. In the following curatorial statement, Dr. T’uy’t’tanat Cease Wyss offers insight into the deep cultural, ecological and spiritual significance of cedar and its central role in SANCTUARY.
X̱ay̓pay̓ (Cedar)
Curatorial Statement by Dr. T’uy’t’tanat Cease Wyss, Skwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw
The weavers from our community are resilient. Each has chosen to begin the twenty-five-year journey toward mastering the many elements and aspects of weaving.
There are numerous materials for weavers to draw from, especially on the Pacific Northwest Coast. Of all the many beautiful natural materials and plant-based fibres that we can draw from, X̱ay̓pay̓ (cedar) is among the most valued because of its longevity, its sacred qualities to our Peoples, and its incredible ability to reflect rain and sun, making it a year-round material that can be used and passed down through many generations.
This is important to note because, before contact with European cultures, we had countless weavers throughout all of our Indigenous communities across Turtle Island. Here, on the Pacific Northwest Coast—home to more than fifty-four Nations in what is known today as “Coast Salish territories” among more than 274 Indigenous cultures in so-called British Columbia—everybody had to know how to weave. Since we created everything we wore, we had to take great care to ensure that both materials and clothing lasted a long time. We stored our wool in cedar boxes as well as in mats that we made ourselves. In the summer, when there may be moths and other bugs around, the cedar kept the wool safe. In the fall, we could air out our wool and cedar in the moist air to clean and freshen them.
We revive our cedar throughout the seasons. After hot summers, when the oils rise to the surface, cedar becomes moist again. When the rains start, the hat, mat, blanket or cape—as well as the pounded cedar vests worn to cover yourself—have been coated with a layer of natural protection. Cedar keeps out pests. It keeps things fresh and repels water. It will only mould if mistreated and stored improperly.
Our rhythm as Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw is balanced to the rhythm of X̱ay̓pay̓.
Our lives are lived in cedar from the point of birth, if we are lucky to be born on a cedar mat. We paddle in canoes made of cedar; we live in houses made of cedar; we wear cedar garments. We work with cedar throughout our lives and we embody cedar daily. At the end of our lives, we are wrapped in cedar and placed in cedar boxes. Our Peoples continue this practice when we let loved ones go.
Cedar is always a part of us. We embody cedar; we are made of cedar. We live with and protect cedar in every way, and it is our love of cedar that will carry our Peoples through every aspect of living.
Cedar is Life.
Water is Life.
Cedar fosters our communities. As Indigenous Peoples, we are relatives with all living things, and when cedar is harmed, we are harmed. When the animals that rely on cedar are harmed, it affects the entire ecosystem.
When we struggle, cedar guides us away from struggle and pain. We feel cedar’s pain as well—when it disappears, when our forests are clear-cut, when greedy capitalists go after our ancient giants that are so sacred to us, we are deeply hurt.
It is my great privilege and honour to share with you a few of the many incredibly talented weavers from our community. There are far too many to bring into the entirety of the Vancouver Art Gallery, let alone into this one gallery space. I reached out to a few of my friends and relatives to help me show why cedar is so precious. It is not a commodity for the corporate elite to destroy and leave nothing behind. Cedar is the most sacred of our plants. Without cedar we would never have survived, thrived or made the incredible journeys we have made.
These works belong to the future ancestors, human and non-human alike.
I present here, a few of the Cedar Women of our Nation.
X̱ay̓pay̓ Slanáy̓ / Cedar Women
Vera Brown-Douglas is a respected weaver, storyteller and seeker of stories and knowledge. Brown-Douglas is a matriarch who wants to share the beauty and stories of the natural world, as told through weaving and other elements of the natural world. Her love for cedar has driven her to bring to life the gifts of the sacred forest through her creativity and cultural teachings.
She is a Cedar Woman.
Tracy Cameron is a respected weaver and mentor of the creative arts she holds dear to her skwalewen. She continues to challenge herself through her many years of dedication to her practice. Her weavings share stories of her love of cedar and wool, and the many fibres she continues to explore and utilize in her journey of weaving. She is a keeper of our ancient styles of weaving and all cultural elements of creativity, including using natural fibres and dyes, and exploring her sense of style from ancient to contemporary.
She is a Cedar Woman.
Slhamexwntenaat Rachel Baker is an emerging weaver who has recently been learning to bring to life her visions of regalia through cedar and wool weavings. She is exploring various styles and techniques, and learning to surround herself in cultural pride. She weaves her love of cedar and cultural teachings from what she sees in her heart and mind. Baker brings her love of cedar into her practice—from the forest where she gathers her materials to her home and her journey of creating.
She is a Cedar Woman.
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