Indigenous artists honoured for Salish Secondary works

Several artists were honoured at Salish Secondary on Friday during a ceremony that recognized the contribution of Indigenous art to the school.

Since opening in 2018, the school has received various pieces of Indigenous art, including a welcome post, mural, weavings and iconography that has been installed throughout the school.

Friday’s ceremony recognized those artists, which included Deanna Pointe, Brandon Gabriel, Wes Antone, Roxanne Charles, Elinor Atkins, Dallas Yellowfly, Alysha Collie and Paula James, Senior Indigenous District Language and Culture Facilitator.

"It is an honour to welcome you all and celebrate these artists for their contributions," said Laurie Larsen, chair of the Surrey Board of Education. "Today we add to the (Salish Secondary) legacy by recognizing these wonderful contributions and the artists that created them."

“This is a way for us to honour those who have helped shape our school’s identity and is such a great way to tie our students into understanding the importance of our name,” said Sheila Hammond, principal at Salish Secondary.

According to Hammond, the art has played a key role in establishing school spirit, with students and staff recognizing the works as an important presence.

“The students are incredibly respectful of the art and each year we see the new students who are just in awe of these pieces,” said Hammond. “We never see students fiddling or vandalizing them, they are just so respectful of these works and what they mean.”

Hammond also noted that the school’s logo, a wolf designed by Musqueam artist Deanna Point, has been embraced by students, who proudly wear it on their school’s clothing.

“This is the logo that is on our school’s sports wear, it’s our school’s mascot and is in the center of our gymnasium,” said Hammond. “It’s something the students wear every day and so they’ve really embraced it as the symbol of our identity and school spirit.”

For Lyn Daniels, Director of Instruction for Indigenous Peoples Learning, it was important to have Indigenous art throughout Salish Secondary, not only as a reminder of the area’s heritage, but also to show Indigenous students and staff they are welcome.

“When we have Indigenous students here in the district, we want to acknowledge that they are making a choice to be here because they can also just choose to go to a First Nations only school,” said Daniels. “If they are choosing to come to a public school, we want to make sure these are welcoming spaces for Indigenous students and families.”

In addition to the cultural significance, Daniels said the designs themselves lend themselves to the design of the school and add to its overall beauty.

“The designs are always so imaginative and bright and bold and so I think they are naturally appealing to people and youth, in particular,” she said. “Indigenous art usually features animals and nature and that’s something we really focus on in the schools, learning from our environment and respecting everything that is living. It’s been beautiful to see.”