Visitors to the day use area at Fisheries Pool in Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park will have a brand new set of doors to welcome them as of spring 2018.
Commissioned by BC Parks and designed and carved by master Nuxalk artist Alvin Mack, the doors are a spectacular work of art intended to represent the story of the Park. Mack, a celebrated and accomplished artist in the community, said that the piece is a way of communicating our mutual responsibilities to taking care of the Park.
“On the right side there is an eagle and a bear,” Mack explained. “There is a tree in the middle, with Alhkw’ntam on the top, and on the left side there is a goat and a salmon. These figures represent the life in the Park, and also our responsibility to care for them.”
Mack is passionate about Nuxalk art and its purpose, often referring to himself as a “vessel” for the art and culture to express itself. This latest piece is no different, and to reiterate that point he refers to a specific story involving one of the first European visitors to the Valley, Alexander MacKenzie.
“When MacKenzie first visited he and his party was accompanied downriver by Nuxalk guides,” Mack recalls. “At one point one of MacKenzie’s party throws some garbage in the river, some leftover food. At this time any refuse in the river was strictly forbidden, and the Nuxalkmc accompanying him dove and dove until they retrieved this piece of garbage.
“If that had been a Nuxalkmc at that time, he would have been killed. That is how serious the offense of littering in the river was. We need to relearn why this was; the whole community needs to start taking care of this territory again.”
Tweedsmuir South Area Supervisor Steven Hodgson said that the doors are a representation of the continuing partnership between the Nuxalk Nation and BC Parks and are important as they bring Nuxalk perspective and culture into the park, which encompasses Nuxalk traditional territory.
“The Nuxalk Nation and BC Parks work collaboratively on all aspects of park management: Park Use Permit applications, management planning, day to day operational issues and facility development,” said Hodgson. “The new day use shelter located at the Fisheries Pool Area, along with the carved doors, welcome pole and interpretive sign package being introduced next spring, are a few examples of true collaborative management in action.
“Bringing a Nuxalk perspective into the design of park facilities is a way for the Nation to represent their culture over their ancestral territory. Visitors will now be exposed to a more grounding and meaningful educational experience on the cultural, spiritual and ecological significance of the area. This could only be achieved through the use of Nuxalk art and stories and BC Parks is very honored to collaborate with the Nuxalk Nation on this project.”
A ceremony is being planned next spring to unveil the doors and the additional works of art and sign package currently in the works for the park.