Travellers coming into Penticton are told they are welcome in the traditional syilx language thanks to a prominent new sculpture.
The statue of wa媒, can be translated to hello and welcome in the nsyilxc蓹n language of the Syilx Okanagan people, and it greets people as they enter the city across the River Channel at the north end of Penticton, right next to the English City of Penticton sign.
A small gathering with the artist, members of the Ooknakane Friendship Centre, and representatives from the City of Penticton watched the sculpture be installed on June 23.
"This is more about starting to introduce people to our language, and it's a massive part of our culture," said Clint George, the snpnk'tn (Penticton) Indian Band artist who made the sculpture. "It represents who we are, where we're at in our traditional territory. To be able to read this as you're coming in is just amazing, I don't know if there's any other signage like it anywhere else around here."
The project is a collaboration between the City of Penticton and Ooknakane Friendship Centre, and commissioned Penticton Indian Band artist Clint George to make the sculpture.
An additional improvement is currently being planned, which would add a QR code that would provide additional information such as how to pronounce wa媒, what it means, and further support learning the traditional culture.
"In the 160-plus years since Confederation and the joining of so-Called British Columbia, you haven't learned to say hello to us," said Bruce Manuel (skyak谩), chair of the Ooknakane Friendship Centre. "Everybody knows how to say 'aloha', and they know what it means, because of media, because of travel. Snpink'tn is a top 10 destination in the world, and nobody knows how to say 'wa媒. Now they can."
The initiative is part of the city's official community plan's goals to honour and promote expressions of Syilx Okanagan First Nations culture and heritage, and it was inspired by similar art installations in Lethbridge, Alberta of the Blackfoot word Oki, which means hello in their traditional language.
"Today is a small step, but with great meaning and the acknowledgement of the original culture of this land," said Penticton Mayor Julius Bloomfield. "The welcome is in both languages and represents both cultures, side-by-side, as we move forward."
The city's community plan includes increasing the visibility of the Indigenous community and culture through art, signage and place naming.
Prior to the sculpture installation, it was used for an Indigenous event on the Penticton Indian Band land on June 21.
The sculpture is also designed to be movable, in order to make it possible to transport it and place it for events such as Indigenous Peoples' Day.
Creating the sculpture took almost two years, and required a large amount of steel, skill and hard work, as well as some literal blood, sweat and tears, said George.
