When the Okanagan Indigenous Music and Arts Society put out a call for an opportunity to paint a mural on the Kelowna Gospel Mission, Syilx artist Sheldon Pierre Louis knew he wanted to pitch a design, but he wasn91裸聊视频檛 entirely sure what that design would be.

Then, one night, his partner Csetkwe had a dream about Louis91裸聊视频檚 aunty Lucy, an Okanagan artist who Louis credited as a major inspiration in his life.

91裸聊视频淢y aunty Lucy, she always supported me and looked on from afar as I was becoming a young artist. She always loved seeing my artwork and what I did,91裸聊视频� said Louis.

In Csetkwe91裸聊视频檚 dream, Louis said that his aunty told him that he needs to paint salmon, an animal that is a primary food mainstay of the Syilx Okanagan people that has become central to their culture and trade traditions.

For 10 years, Louis said that salmon has been a central component of his work, using his art to draw attention to environmental impacts on salmon and the Columbia River.

91裸聊视频淚 still struggled with it. I91裸聊视频檝e created so many salmon pieces. How is a salmon piece going to fit in the downtown core?91裸聊视频� he said.

As he thought more about it, he decided that his design would be more than just salmon 91裸聊视频� it would be a memorial piece dedicated to his aunty. He looked back at old video footage of her reflecting on her work at the Round Lake Treatment Centre, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre located in Okanagan Indian Band (OKIB) territory.

READ MORE: Syilx artist selected as winner of Kelowna Gospel Mission91裸聊视频檚 mural project

91裸聊视频淪he went to work, and her and my uncle, that kind of became their life. Helping to heal people, helping them move out of alcoholism and drug addictions,91裸聊视频� said Louis. 91裸聊视频淭hat was a part of her early life. That kind of relates to the wording, the k史u mr虛imstn - we are medicine. It91裸聊视频檚 kind of a reminder that each of us are medicine.91裸聊视频�

He also had a vision of incorporating fellow OKIB community member and artist Billie Kruger into the design, drawing inspiration from an image of her releasing salmon into the waterway. He reached out to Kruger and pitched the idea to her, which she welcomed.

As it turns out, Kruger was friends with aunty Lucy, something Louis wasn91裸聊视频檛 aware of until Kruger told him.

91裸聊视频淚 didn91裸聊视频檛 understand why, at the time, I wanted to put her in this mural,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淏ut now that she shared this story about aunty Lucy, by all means, she needs to be part of this mural.91裸聊视频�

With aunty Lucy as the design91裸聊视频檚 centrepiece, Louis formulated an idea to capture three Indigenous women in three different stages of their lives in the mural. His niece, Irene, was the third piece of the puzzle.

91裸聊视频淭his photo was of my niece wearing this old, kinda grandma-looking sweater and a ribbon skirt. She looked like a little grandma, basically,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淎 little, young grandma. It91裸聊视频檚 a perfect image.91裸聊视频�

Coincidentally, baby Irene was named after Louis91裸聊视频檚 grandmother, who happened to be the aunt to aunty Lucy.

91裸聊视频淚t seemed like a coincidence, but not quite a coincidence that all those pieces seemed to come together in the way they did,91裸聊视频� he said.

In his design, he featured the faces of two tuma (grandmother) spirits behind the three women watching over them.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 a bit of a contrast of the old and the new grandmother spirits that are watching over those women, watching over and being caregivers over the land and the language,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淎lso, just looking over those people who are living on the streets and watching over them as well.91裸聊视频�

Written twice on the design is 91裸聊视频渨e are medicine91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频� once in Nsyilxc蓹n and again in English.

91裸聊视频淢y grandfather 91裸聊视频� he never taught his kids or us grandkids the language. He regretted it in his final years,91裸聊视频� said Louis.

91裸聊视频淗e said any little bit of your language that you know 91裸聊视频� it doesn91裸聊视频檛 matter if it91裸聊视频檚 three, five words or more 91裸聊视频� he said you make sure you always use it in whatever way and whenever you can.91裸聊视频�

While 91裸聊视频渨e are medicine91裸聊视频� speaks to aunt Lucy91裸聊视频檚 work at the Round Lake Treatment Centre, Louis said it also speaks to missing and murdered Indigenous women and Two-Spirit people.

91裸聊视频淭he whole crisis that91裸聊视频檚 surrounding that, I wanted to also give a reminder that our women are medicine. They91裸聊视频檙e important. We need to protect them,91裸聊视频� he said.

Salmon lined the design91裸聊视频檚 border, which he said speaks to the resiliency of the Syilx people, their language and their land.

In April, Louis91裸聊视频檚 design, titled 91裸聊视频渒史u mr虛imstn - we are medicine,91裸聊视频� was selected as the winning concept for the Gospel Mission91裸聊视频檚 mural project. He got to work on the art piece at the end of August, spending a total of 15 days over a three-week period painting the design.

Each day would last around six to eight hours, where he would slowly piece together the design on the 25 ft. by 100 ft. wall. But during the first week of undertaking the painting, he was living in a hotel after being evacuated due to the White Rock Lake wildfire on Aug. 4.

91裸聊视频淚 spent a week in a hotel in Westbank at that time, separated from community and family. At that time, it was more of, 91裸聊视频業 had to push through this,91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� said Louis, who91裸聊视频檚 also a councillor on the OKIB91裸聊视频檚 band council.

It wasn91裸聊视频檛 until Sept. 4 when he was able to go back to his Vernon home.

91裸聊视频淚 really had to try and manage my emotional state as best as I could. Doing that work as an artist, you91裸聊视频檙e putting a piece of yourself into that,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚 had to be very careful when I was on that wall that my mind and my heart weren91裸聊视频檛 in a place of stress and worry around the fires.91裸聊视频�

He wrapped up painting the mural on Sept. 12, adding the final salmon touches to the bottom of the mural, after initially deciding against it the day before.

91裸聊视频淲hen I decided to go do it, it was the two-year anniversary of aunt Lucy91裸聊视频檚 passing,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 really grateful that I did go back to add those salmon because it creates much more of a connection and much more of a memory of her to it.91裸聊视频�

After bringing the mural to life, he described the experience of being able actually to see his finished work as amazing.

91裸聊视频淓ven though we were going through a very tough and stressful time, to come through that and still be able to put something so beautiful like that, so representative of our people and nation, it really helped to uplift obviously some of the people in our community here that were dealing with the evacuation,91裸聊视频� he said.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 been received very well from our nation members. They always remind me that the work I91裸聊视频檓 doing out there is important. It91裸聊视频檚 representing us, showcasing us, reminding the people they live in Syilx territory.91裸聊视频�

READ MORE: Strengthening Syilx women91裸聊视频檚 identities, ties to the land

aaron.hemens@kelownacapnews.com
Like us on and follow us on .