The scent of chiseled cedar filled the air as artist Josh Watts perfectly centered his latest carving on a white wall.
Watts is one of five artists featured this April at the Naa'Waya'Sum Carving Studio in a Carving on the Edge exhibition called the ‘Next Generation Indigenous Art Show’. Naa'Waya'Sum (pronounced nah-why-a-sum) is located at the former Tofino Botanical Gardens within the ha’houlthee (traditional territory) of Tla-o-qui-aht Ha’wiih (hereditary chiefs).
“There’s strength you can find in learning where you come from, and a lot of our artwork is about connection to our ancestors,” said Watts, who is of Nuu-chah-nulth and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh First Nations descent.
“Your ancestors are connected to a place and time, so if art is something that you want to do and excites you, it can be really healing. You don’t have to be professional at it. Something in everybody is creative. The way I see it, it’s a way to connect to my family, my history, where I’m from and where I grew up. You can find a lot of healing and a lot of strength in that,” he said.
The Next Generation Indigenous Art Show runs until April 30 at the Clayoquot Campus, a newly reopened space that includes the Naa’Waya’Sum Indigenous Coastal Gardens, Naa’Waya’Sum Carving Studio, IISAAK Learning Lodge and the čukʷaa haʔuk café (meaning ‘Come! Let’s feast’), which is run by culinary legend chef Lisa Ahier.
Indigenous-led IISAAK OLAM Foundation acquired the property in 2021, and after a five-year transition, Clayoquot Campus director Eli Enns says the April 2 reopening under a Pink Full Moon signifies rebirth and “all of the intentions growing up”.
“This is no longer the botanical gardens. People need to understand that botanical gardens are inherently colonial,” said Enns. “It’s a colonial thing where they bring different plants from the rest of the world. This has unfortunately led to a lot of invasive species outbreaks.”
He said the revitalized trails within the Naa’Waya’Sum Indigenous Coastal Gardens are going to encourage Indigenous practices, with the planting of native medicinal plants, a demonstration root garden and a teaching clam garden.
“Everything we do in our foundation and everything we do on this property is rooted in the concept of ethical space,” said Enns.
Ethical space is a concept adopted from Indigenous thought leaders of the older generation, says Enns, which is applied broadly to Indigenous-Crown relations in a Canadian context.
“It’s similar to two-eyed seeing,” he explained. “Two-eyed seeing you are looking at the world through Indigenous worldview and western science. In ethical space, you’re bringing the best of Indigenous knowledge and the best of western science and modern technology together to solve complex problems for the benefit of all.”
He went on to note that in ethical space, one knowledge system isn’t dominant over the other or validating the other.
“They are both independently valid and they come together in equality and ideally in complementariness,” said Enns.
Two cedar welcome figures, carved by Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation Joe Martin, greet guests at the entrance of Clayoquot Campus with both arms open. Enns says the welcome figures symbolize the need for the two knowledge systems to come together for the collective well-being of future generations.
“Right now, they are on display at the carving facility, a lot of people assume that we will move them out by the road, but actually we are going to put them down by the water,” Enns shared.
“There is a location at high tide where you can travel in and come by canoe or kayak. In former times, that’s how people got around; people travelled by the waterways. We want to revitalize a canoeing culture in Tofino, so it’s a regular mode of travel,” he said.
Carving on the Edge Festival’s cultural planner and treasurer Norma Dryden said the Next Generation Indigenous Art Show includes free workshops throughout April at the art hub below the Tofino Legion.
“We are really grateful to be here. We are so happy to see how it’s blossomed,” said Dryden.
Visit carvingedgefestival.com/ for more information about the workshops and clayoquotcampus.ca/ to see how you can support the maintenance of the gardens by purchasing an annual membership.
Nuu-chah-nulth citizens are welcome to apply for a free annual membership Naa’Waya’Sum, a word gifted by elder Levi Martin that references traditional cedar benches used for intergenerational knowledge sharing and observation.
