In this multi-year digital media research project artist T'uy't'tanat-Cease Wyss examines the intersections of the cultures that co-exist along the north shore.  

Cultural Crossings. T'uy't'tanat-Cease Wyss, 2020, 13 min. (View on YouTube)

 TRANSCRIPT

Xemelchts'n Uxumixw is a small Sḵwx̱wú7mesh village in what is now known as the districts of North and West Vancouver. One of a number Coast Salish nations, the community is part of a very rich and beautiful culture that has existed for thousands of years but whose lands and waterscapes have been transformed in a less than a century into what we currently see today. 

The current site of the village was the original estuary of the Capilano watershed. The name Xwmelch'stn (“the place where the salmon roll”) refers to the large number of salmon that would return each year to spawn upriver. (So many that, if your feet were well calloused, you could walk across their backs!)

Today a Spirit Trail crosses and links the North and West Vancouver Districts, and will eventually extend to Horseshoe Bay. The Sḵwx̱wú7mesh people, too, have a Spirit Trail, one that links us to our cultural and spiritual spaces, where the teachings and ceremonies of our ancestors are shared. As Future Ancestors we seek to nurture this connection and continue our sacred practices.

The intersections of these ceremonial spaces with the Spirit Trail are both blessings and curses at the same time. Improved access has made it easier for all members of our community to flow between their busy communal and personal lives and our ancient cultural and spiritual worlds. But since anyone can now traverse via the Spirit Trail, this often leads to vandalism and to piles of garbage and discarded items mysteriously appearing in our sacred spaces. 

I created on this research project for my community and for those who regularly use this illegal “cutaway” made by Indian Agents more than a hundred years ago. The section of the Spirit Trail along Welch Road between Whonnoak Road and Taylor Way houses the last tiny pocket of the original estuary of the Capilano watershed. My intention is that this app will support the work being done to protect and preserve this sacred cultural space and to encourage a shared passion for protecting the species at risk that still rely on this forest to survive and to thrive. 

I hope you enjoy the journey through our shared Spirit Trails and witness these Cultural Crossings. Please help keep them clean and clear of waste.