Indigenous sculpture will be unveiled near Chase next month

Photo: Contributed

An Indigenous sculpture will be unveiled in the Shuswap next weekend.

The Secwe?pemc Landmarks project team will unveil the Tsqu?qw7e Landmark sculpture on May 13 at 1 p.m. in Tsqu?qw7e (Chase Memorial Park).

The landmark was created by the late Mike “Savage” Peters, assisted by his son, Lone White Wolf, Peters and Chaz, and completed by Shayne D. Hunt and David Jacob Harder. All are welcome to celebrate the installation of the sculpture, which is dedicated to commemorating Mike, one of the two original artists.

Tsqu?qw7e - pronounced ch-kokw-a - is the place name for the Chase Memorial Park area, meaning “a small bay” in Secwepemctsi?n, the Secwe?pemc language.

The sculpture is shaped in the form of a Coyote Rock, representing rock formations created by Sekl?e?p, Skl?ap, or Senxu?xwlecw (coyote),with metal work sculpture in the shape of tree food caches, used to store dried roots and salmon.

Carvings in the metalwork represent oral histories shared by the Secwe?pemc Elders Advisory Committee, made up of elders from Adams Lake, Skwla?x (Little Shuswap), Neskonlith and Splatsi?n.

The Secwe?pemc Landmarks project team is also working to install trailhead posts carved by youth from Secwe?pemc Child and Family Services, Shihiya, Chief Atahm, and five schools in School District No. 83.

The trailhead posts were carved with the guidance of Kenthen Thomas who designed the curriculum for the workshops, and from Splatsi?n carvers Hop You and Vern Clemah. Close to 200 youth carved just under 100 trailhead posts, which will be installed on trail systems throughout the Shuswap Lakes region of Secwepemcu?le?, by the fall.