September 13, 2017

The Musqueam: Identity and Wealth

It’s the latest piece of public art in downtown Vancouver, just installed in the entrance lobby of SFU Harbour Centre:

The backdrop will eventually reveal a more suitable setting, I presume, but this is already a powerful piece – a welcome figure by Musqueam artist Brent Sparrow:

You are being welcomed by one of the “noble, influential, and wealthy members of the community” wearing a nobility blanket, symbolizing “the wealth, power, and prestige of the wearer.”
This is a theme I have seen before, notably at McArthur Glen, the faux shopping village near the entrance to YVR.  On the northern edge of the complex is a seating area surrounded by plaques that acknowledge and explain the Musqueam history and presence on this territory.

Notably:

“We are wealthy, high class people and have always been on this land.”
The current wealth and satisfaction of the people of Vancouver is not just a post-settler phenomenon; it’s a reflection of the fortune and circumstance of its abundance and location, going back to post-glaciation – and explains why so many people desire to have a piece of it or make it their home.
The Musqueam culture reflected that abundance in its economy, identity and art.
 

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