Yellow bubbles, sturgeon, salmon, seaweed and blanket patterns are all part of a mural at the front entrance to Spul’u’kwuks elementary school.
The new mural, created by Musqueam artist Debbie Sparrow, was celebrated last Wednesday morning at the school.
When students enter the school every day, they will see the mural, reminding them of the history of the Musqueam people and the significance of the area’s ecology.
“The mural is important because we are living on Musqueam land,” said Oscar, a student at the school, sharing his reflection of the mural project.
“The mural tells the story of the land before settlers came,” he added. “It represents the importance of the river to the Musqueam, and the mural represents our local ecosystem.”
During the celebration, Alec Dan, who is Coast Salish-Musqueam and a Richmond resident, gave the students a Musqueam welcome.
The school’s name, Spul’u’kwuks, is a Musqueam word meaning “a place of bubbling waters,” hence the bubble patterns in the mural.
Included in the mural are two fish that have significance for Musqueam – salmon and sturgeon.
“Sturgeon can live to be very old, they are very special to our community, so we wanted to honour the ancient land and ancient species that live along this beautiful waterway that we have,” said Sparrow about her artwork.
“Salmon also represents our food source from the river which is very important to our community.”
Different fish patterns serve as reminders for residents not to pollute the rivers on which they depend for survival and to protect the ocean's resources, Sparrow explained.
“Seaweed that floats in the water represents a lot of our resources that are nutrients out of the water.”
Part of the mural is the "Salish eye," which represents past and future generations.
The Salish people include the Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh, Katzie, Kwantlen, who are the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓-speaking people
Sparrow explained she has been creating Musqueam artwork for 20 years at different schools as well as at YVR and UBC.
“I do it on behalf of my people and my ancestors… to honour them and to bring their story about who we are in this land,” she said.
Sparrow and her family have close ties to Richmond.
At the celebration, she recalled spending her childhood summers in Steveston while her family was working in the fishing industry.
“I used to stay there every summer and I used to play in the net shed and make myself a swing and have lots of fun while my grandparents were fishing,” she said.
Spul’u’kwuks elementary school has created a Truth and Reconciliation committee to learn more about Indigenous history and culture.
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