Coast Salish Canoe Culture comes to the Vancouver Maritime Museum – Canadian Inquirer

April 25, 2024

The Vancouver Maritime Museum is delighted to announce their latest exhibition from local səlil ̕wətaʔɬ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh artist, Zoe George. Entitled snəxʷəł which means ‘canoe’ in hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓, the exhibition will be displaying traditional canoes, paddles, photographs and a video on the importance of canoe culture.

Visitors will discover the beautiful history of canoeing and learn about some of the cultural traditions of the səlil ̕wətaʔɬ people.

Artist Zoe George says, “I want to share some of the traditional səlil ̕wətaʔɬ aspects of that. This project/exhibit came about from a research grant that I received. I chose to focus on canoeing because it is a huge and important part of my life. From March until September I canoe and war canoe race anywhere from five to six days a week. My səlil ̕wətaʔɬ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh ancestors have kept canoeing alive and I wish to continue this on. I want people to come to this exhibit and understand the beautiful history of canoeing. I also want to share how war canoeing is of large importance in many First Nations communities.”

Read More: https://canadianinquirer.net/2024/04/25/coast-salish-canoe-culture-comes-to-the-vancouver-maritime-museum/