A 17-year-old Musqueam artist has designed a Coast Salish Indigenous art piece that adorns the newest fire truck — “Red 5”— at Vancouver International Airport.
When she was asked to create the design and saw the massive truck, Summer Cannell thought of a thunderbird, the legendary bird that is a symbol of the protector and the giver of life who brings water, “the source of all life,” Cannell explained.
She wanted the artwork to symbolize what it does — ensure passengers at YVR are safe in case of an emergency.
“When I first saw Red 5, the canvas, I thought this is such a strong truck, and just like the thunderbird, I wanted it to protect people,” Cannell told the Richmond News.
There is even a legend of a thunderbird in Steveston that saved the salmon during a period of low water due to a drought.
The unique shape of a fire truck as her canvas — instead of a two-dimensional one — presented its own logistical challenges.
Cannell created the design by hand and it was then made into a pdf.
It was put on an adhesive “wrap” that was then placed on Red 5.
“I was excited to have my own work (on the truck), but I was also excited to share the knowledge I have of First Nations culture … with the community,” she said.
Cannell comes from a long line of artists.
In fact, her father, Thomas Cannell, designed the six-storey high “Sea to Sky” art piece installed on corner of the Paramount building on No. 3 Road next to the Brighouse Canada Line station.
Symbol of friendship
The original idea to wrap the latest fire truck at the airport in Indigneous art came from YVR fire chief Chane Thomas who wanted to honour the Musqueam-YVR friendship agreement and show the fire department’s dedication to this agreement.
Thomas wanted to “create something that had meaning to us and had meaning to our friendship agreement and the Musqueam people.”
Thomas described the final result as an “amazing masterpiece.”
Red 5 with its unique artwork was kept under wraps from the rest of the fire department until it was ready.
When it was finally revealed and Cannell read her story about why she wanted the thunderbird on the truck, “that’s when I got emotional,” Thomas said.
“It means a lot to the deparment and the organization,” he added.
Yellow truck named ‘Red 5’
The truck’s name “Red 5” might sound confusing to a layperson given its bright yellow, red and orange colours.
But “red” is airport-speak for emergency vehicles, a term recognized in the aviation industry, Thomas explained — easier to relay than a term like “fire fighting vehicles.”
He thinks Red 5 is the only airport fire truck in Canada, and possibly in North America, that is fully wrapped in Indigenous art.
And other local fire departments have sat up and taken notice.
Vancouver Fire-Rescue has reached out as they’re looking to do something to their trucks, Thomas explained.
