Among settlers, it is a kind of honour to be called a true revelstoke “local” and it is common to overhear people at the coffee shop debating how long one must have lived here to deserve such a title. This piece was created with these conversations in mind. Is the answer perhaps millenia? Or does it have less to do with time? Could it be found in a connection to place that is so intimate that the way one interacts with the landscape is embedded in the names your ancestors have given the trees?
The collage below visualizes the meanings of Nsəlxčiń (Colville-Okanagan) names of trees found in the northern regions of Sn̓ʕay̓čkstx territory, in revelstoke, where I grew up. The collage includes examples of how each tree was or is used by Sn̓ʕay̓čkstx people. The piece is created with other settlers who call themselves local to revelstoke in mind. It aims to invoke thought, instil a deeper connection to land, and ultimately build compassion towards action.
