Cheyenne provided a unique and authentic learning opportunity for participants to gain a greater awareness of Indigenous people’s connections with beadwork, food, and nature. A BBQ Salmon lunch and all beading materials were provided. The workshop was limited to 20 participants. The meeting took place in the Neville Scarfe Building, room 1008. Participants were reminded not to forget their sunscreen and a hat!
The intention behind the hands-on workshop was to repurpose salmon vertebrae into beads. Cheyenne began this work in 2022 as part of a composting pedagogies project for an environmental literacy class. Indigenous people across Turtle Island have practiced sustainable food harvesting since time immemorial – using fish weirs, dip nets, and gill nets. In British Columbia, the Pacific salmon were a cultural keystone species and a significant food source for Indigenous people. The salmon egg represented the core, the symbology of the life cycle of Pacific salmon. Additionally, “the understandings and philosophies embedded with this centre were carried through time and across generations, through language, story, ceremony, practice, and law” (Living Planet Report, 2022, p. 51). The salmon vertebrae beads used in each of the earrings were Cheyenne’s rendition of her understanding of language, story, and practice.
About the Artist:
ʔə́y̓ swéyəl mək̓ʷ wet Cheyenne Cunningham θə nə skʷix təni cən ʔəƛ̓ q̓íc̓əy̓. Good day everyone, my name is Cheyenne Cunningham and I currently reside on the Katzie First Nation reserve located along the Fraser River in Pitt Meadows, BC. I am English on my mother’s side and Coast Salish on my father’s side. I am in my third year of my PhD in Language & Literacy Education at UBC. I also recently graduated from SFU with my Diploma in Indigenous Language Proficiency. My research interests focus on the exploration of Katzie place names that have been identified in Suttles (1955) Katzie Ethnographic Notes, to surface knowledge embedded within these landscapes. I would like to examine how these place names can contribute to language revitalization initiatives.
Session Date:
Tuesday, May 28 | 12pm – 2pm