By Melissa Renwick, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter HA-SHILTH-SA

Growing up in the city, away from her Nuu-chah-nulth and KwakwakaB次元官网网址檞akw homelands, Joslyn Williams struggled to understand her own identity. Without anyone around to teach her about her culture, she felt disconnected from herself.

B次元官网网址淚 always felt like there was something missing,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 so hard to connect back to your roots when thereB次元官网网址檚 no one there to teach you.B次元官网网址�

WilliamsB次元官网网址� mother, Rodrina Peter, shared what she knew by teaching Williams the basics of the Nuu-chah-nulth language, but had connection issues of her own. As a teenager, Peter dealt with the loss of her own mother. She was raised by B次元官网网址渁mazingB次元官网网址� foster parents, but Williams said they werenB次元官网网址檛 Nuu-chah-nulth and were unable to B次元官网网址渢each her anything about her culture.B次元官网网址�

In high school, Williams said there were no Indigenous teachers at Mount Douglas Secondary. She recalled applying for a class about the history of First Nations peoples on Vancouver Island in Grade 12, but it was cancelled.

B次元官网网址淭here wasnB次元官网网址檛 enough interest in that class,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淲hich really sucked.B次元官网网址�

In an attempt to learn more about her culture, Williams became involved with the Victoria Native Friendship Centre, where she was introduced to the Eagle Project in 2015. Along with being provided with career counseling, First Aid training, and business development programs, the Eagle Project led youth through the process of carving a totem pole under the instruction of master carver Moy Sutherland Jr.

It was the first time Williams was exposed to the Nuu-chah-nulth style of carving, and from that moment on, she was hooked.

B次元官网网址淚 didnB次元官网网址檛 want to stop carving after that,B次元官网网址� Williams said.

The project led to a two-year long apprenticeship with Sutherland, who taught her how to create her own designs and carve paddles. But more than carving itself, he taught her how to distinguish the Nuu-chah-nulth aesthetic from other West Coast nations, as well as stories about the animals commonly referenced in Nuu-chah-nulth art.

Art, she said, is used to share these stories.

Despite having KwakwakaB次元官网网址檞akw ancestry, Williams chose to develop a Nuu-chah-nulth aesthetic because she said thereB次元官网网址檚 only a handful of people that continue to carve in the style.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 not a lot of representation of Nuu-chah-nulth carvings,B次元官网网址� she said.

ItB次元官网网址檚 a sentiment echoed by Sutherland, who said B次元官网网址渢hereB次元官网网址檚 only a handful of mastersB次元官网网址� who are represented in the commercial-art world.

After SutherlandB次元官网网址檚 mother landed a teaching job in Alert Bay when he was 13 years old, his family moved to the remote Cormorant Island, near Port McNeill. There, he was exposed to cooperative carving spaces where community members could access bandsaws, chainsaws, wood, and teachers.

B次元官网网址淚f you didnB次元官网网址檛 know how to make something, someone would be there to show you,B次元官网网址� he said.

But when he moved back to Port Alberni in the mid-90s, no spaces like it existed. It took him around five years to find someone willing to teach him how to carve, he recalled. Then, along came Art Thompson.

Sutherland met Thompson at the Royal BC Museum during an exhibition in 1999. Soon after, he started a three-year long apprenticeship that ended when Thompson passed away in 2003. On his deathbed, Sutherland recalled Thompson telling him to continue passing down his teachings.

B次元官网网址淚 learned a lot from that man,B次元官网网址� said Sutherland. B次元官网网址淎nd it wasnB次元官网网址檛 just about the artwork and art. It was about how to be a better dad and a better community member.B次元官网网址�

He attributes the B次元官网网址渞evivalB次元官网网址� of Nuu-chah-nulth art in the 1970s to Thompson, Tim Paul and Ron Hamilton.

B次元官网网址淭hose were the three guys that retained so much of our artistic knowledge that was handed down through the generations,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淎nd now, we need to keep on with that struggle so that more people become empowered to pass it on.B次元官网网址�

For the last 18 years, Sutherland has been working with apprentices to share ThompsonB次元官网网址檚 teachings. ItB次元官网网址檚 a sense of duty he takes seriously.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 one of the coolest things to see somebody teaching someone else the things that you taught them,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 empowerment. The more people that we can empower to have their own voice and have their own opinion B次元官网网址� thatB次元官网网址檚 how you change lives.B次元官网网址�

Williams stepped out on her own as an artist in 2019, using Instagram as a way to share and sell her pieces.

On any day of the week you can find wood shavings covering the dining room carpet inside her Victoria apartment, where she has created a makeshift studio.

Nuu-chah-nulth art was the missing link that connected Williams back to her culture, and to herself.

The shapes and patterns found in WilliamsB次元官网网址� designs often come to her in her dreams.

B次元官网网址淚 love designing birds,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淎ny type of bird.B次元官网网址�

Ravens, eagles and the thunderbird are commonly found throughout her work. The birds are free, much like her designs.

B次元官网网址淟iving in the city, you can easily forget your heritage,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 almost like you forget that you are native. ItB次元官网网址檚 something that I donB次元官网网址檛 want to forget because I want to be able to pass down our language and our stories and our artwork to my children. ItB次元官网网址檚 important not to let it go.B次元官网网址�

At seven months pregnant, Williams said sheB次元官网网址檚 finding it increasingly difficult to lean over the panels sheB次元官网网址檚 carving. Soon, she will be packing up her tools and doesnB次元官网网址檛 know when sheB次元官网网址檒l be able to pull them out again.

B次元官网网址淚 wonder if IB次元官网网址檓 going to carve less, or if IB次元官网网址檓 going to carve more,B次元官网网址� she contemplated. B次元官网网址淚 definitely wonder if my designs will change.B次元官网网址�

The 23-year-old isnB次元官网网址檛 putting any pressure on herself. She is letting the future of her art be steered by her heart.

Williams often thinks about sharing her knowledge with her unborn daughter, and how her designs might morph from free birds into mother bears with their cubs.

Now having found her place within the city, Williams said she has no plans to leave Victoria.

B次元官网网址淎rt helped me to remember who I am and where I come from, and where my family comes from,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 want our language to become so rare that people forget how to speak .125it.375, or our stories to become so rare that people forget them. I donB次元官网网址檛 want my culture to disappear.

B次元官网网址淚 want to make sure that it stays alive for the younger generations.B次元官网网址�