In the Presence of Ancestors

Most people in Vancouver and across Canada are familiar with totem poles but are perhaps not quite so familiar with house posts - carved works of art that are an important part of traditional Indigenous culture here on the West Coast.

In Coast Salish culture artwork tends to be functional, the house post is the big post that would hold up the main roof of the longhouse. Much like a totem pole, the carvings on a house post can tell the story of a family or a significant event.

In 2017, Coast Salish artist and Port Moody resident, Tasha Faye Evans, began The Welcome Post Project, which included a series of community engagement sessions along with the carving of a house post entitled Saymahmet which was carved by Squamish artist and carver James Harry at the Noons Creek Hatchery.

This first welcome post was raised in a ceremony at Rocky Point Park and installed at Noons Creek Hatchery in 2018.

More posts are now under construction with Chrystal Sparrow from Musqueam Nation, Xwalacktun from Squamish Nation, Brandon Gabriel from Kwiwkwetlem Nation, q̓ic̓əy̓ from Katzie Nation, and Zachary George from Tsleil Waututh are all participating in the project, which is presented in collaboration with the Port Moody Ecological Society in a project entitled " In The Presence of Our Ancestors "

“I just wanted to make sure that we reframed how the current residents of Port Moody look at this beautiful city that we live in and look at the waters, and begin to acknowledge the legacy of caregivers that we join as residents here,” says Evans.

After being raised in a public ceremony at Rocky Point Park, each post will be moved to a permanent home nearby along the inlet trail.

Port Moody has a long history of importance for the Coast Salish people. As the traditional Tsleil Waututh village of Saymahmit, it acted as a meeting place for many different nations.