man turned to stone:T’xwelátse

“We must learn to live together in a good way.” This is the message embodied in the ancient figure known as Stone T'xwelátse. The exhibition Man Turned to Stone was created to introduce Stone T'xwelátse – a beloved ancestor well known within the Sto:lo community of British Columbia – to the broader public. Working in collaboration with the T’xwelátse family and Stó:lō Nation, I created several works to complement Sto:lo-produced films and dance performances.

Storyboard for a Repatriation
Paper, graphite, inkjet prints
252" X 42"

After being lost in a US museum for more than a century, Stone T’xwelátse was repatriated in 2006. At the invitation of the living T’xwelátse, Stó:lō elder Herb Joe, my wife writer Sandra Shields and I followed the T’xwelátse family through the final months of the repatriation and the homecoming celebrations that followed. Storyboard For a Repatriation gives an account of the epic journey of Stone T’xwelátse.

Stó:lō history is marked by two great eras of transformation: the first was the distant past when Xexá:ls roamed the land making the world right. Using their supernatural power, Xexá:ls transformed people they met at particular locations into mountains and other forms, creating the landscape known as S’ólh Téméxw—the Stó:lō world. It was an encounter with Xexá:ls that turned T’xwelátse to stone.

The second era of transformation was unleashed by European colonization and the arrival of Xwelitem, a Halq’eméylem word meaning “The hungry ones,” used in reference to the newcomers’ seemingly insatiable appetite for land and resources.

In creating You See Mt Cheam, Lhilheqey Looks Out Over Her People, I was interested in exploring the imaginative transformations brought by my people, the Xwelitem, as we colonized this ancient landscape without consideration for its pre-existing names and stories. A landmark throughout the valley, Mt Cheam is called Lhilheqey by the Stó:lō in reference to a woman of that name who was transformed into the mountain and given the responsibility to watch over her people and the river and salmon upon which they depend.

Semá:th Lake Birds
Inkjet prints, panel nails
various sizes

Semá:th Lake Birds provided a means of reflecting on the physical transformations brought by Xwelitem. Until 1924 when the largest pump in the commonwealth finished draining it, Semá:th Lake (between Abbotsford and Chilliwack) was a rich ecosystem, a key part of the Stó:lō canoe-based transportation network, an important destination for migrating birds, and a spawning ground for millions of fish. In the late 1800s, the lake drew the attention of naturalists engaged in the work of cataloguing “New World” flora and fauna and supplying museums in North America and Europe. The specimens pictured in Semá:th Lake Birds are part of the Royal BC Museum’s collection.

When T'xwelátse was turned to stone it was his wife who was given the responsibility of caring for him. From that time onward, the responsibility of caring for Stone T'xwelátse was given to the women of the T'xwelátse family and was passed on to their daughters or granddaughters who became the caretakers for that generation. The women whose photographs surround Stone T'xwelátse are the current caretakers.