Widzin Kwah Water Sustainability Project

“The stream flows down through the mountain and on each side of the mountain we have a beaver and a bear to represent the ungulates that depend on the stream that’s flowing down from the mountain. It flows into the foothills, and then it comes down, that represents how the trees and the greenery depend on the water. It flows down into the transition into river which humans depend on for fish and food. And on the side of the banks there’s a hummingbird veering into part of the picture representing the birds. On each side of the design, you have a leaf with a drop of water dripping off of it that represents that water is important right down to the last drop. And it feeds everything in the world, keeps everything living. The circle represents our collective responsibility and the circle of life. It is red to represent sacredness. It teaches all living creatures, Indigenous and Non-Indigenous, to walk with wiggus (respect) on the yintah (territory), to take care of our t’oh (water), our kwah (river), our bin (lake). We’re in a time of healing right now and water is a cleansing element for all of us, to learn to take care of ourselves, each other, and the water.”

- Tse’kot (Ron Austin), Wet’suwet’en Dinize, artist and carver