August 7, 2025
ANOTHER EVENT SHARING KNOWLEDGE OF CULTURAL PRACTICES AND KINSHIP TIES across Turtle Island irrespective of the Canada/U.S. border will take place in Abbotsford on October 2, 2025.
In “A Cross-Border Exploration of Indigenous Canoe-Making with Dr. Shawn Brigman and Keith Point”, workshop participants will learn about distinct canoe forms and construction methods, including the sturgeon-nose canoe and the Coast Salish-style dugout canoe.
Dr. Shawn Brigman is a member of the Spokane Tribe of Indians who is one of the artists in the current exhibition “Parallax(e): Perspectives on the Canada–U.S. Border / Perspectives sur la frontière Canada–É.-U.”, on view until January 10, 2026, at The Reach Gallery Museum. Keith Point, a member of Skowkale First Nation, is a canoe builder, a paddle maker, a canoe racer, and a canoe racing coach.
Plateau artist, knowledge keeper, and founder of SALISHAN STURGEON NOSE CANOES, Dr. Shawn Brigman (Spokane Tribe of Indians), based in Spokane, WA, has for over a decade been dedicated to reviving, interpreting, and expanding upon the sturgeon-nose canoe form traditional to his snʕáyckst (Sinixt), ql̓ispé (Kalispel), and Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc (Shuswap) ancestors, as well as safeguarding this knowledge against cultural appropriation and educating audiences about the significance of Indigenous knowledge sovereignty. Keith Point (Skowkale First Nation), based on Stó:lō Téméxw in the Lower Mainland of BC, is a canoe maker and canoe racing coach who inherited his love of carving Coast Salish-style dugout canoes from his father, Mark Point. Brigman and Point are long-time participants in community canoe journeys across their respective ancestral territories and beyond. (from Culture Days web page)
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We acknowledge that the land on which we work is the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.