Camosun Innovates, in collaboration with Indigenous artist Carey Newman and Pacific Opera Victoria, has won a prestigious Land Award in the Land Use and Conservation award category for their work on Totem 2.0, a project designed to preserve old-growth trees without restricting cultural carving practices.
Indigenous artist Carey Newman (Nulis) working with Totem 2.0 in his workshop.
Totem 2.0 is ground-breaking technology that bridges traditional Indigenous art practices with modern engineering solutions, enabling totem pole carving using sustainable second-growth cedar. The innovative apparatus, originally imagined by renowned Indigenous artist and UVic Impact Chair, Carey Newman (Nulis). Funded by a CCSIF grant, the mechanism was designed by a team that included the artist, mechanical engineering students, and Camosun Innovates staff. This collaboration produced a unique way for carvers to work with multiple beams of second-growth cedar instead of rare old-growth logs.
"This project was equal parts challenging and fulfilling. Working with Camosun Innovates and Pacific Opera Victoria we were able to transform a creative dream into a tangible device and practical process that we can share with other First Nations carvers and communities," says Carey. "The idea of seeing other artists use the Totem 2.0 process is pretty exciting, hopefully this Land Award will help to draw their attention to it!"
"It is an honour to work with Carey on projects of this importance, and to be recognized for our contributions to responsible land use and resource conservation," says Dr. Richard Gale, Director of Camosun Innovates. "At the heart of Totem 2.0 is the conservation of old growth cedar and preservation of a traditional Indigenous practice for future generations; I'm very proud that we continue to support the vision of a more environmentally sustainable process that respects Indigenous ways of creation and the cultural contexts of the carvers."
The Land Awards were created by the Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia in 2010 and are presented every two years. They recognize outstanding projects and remarkable leaders that protect the lands and waters, and create sustainable, inclusive and resilient communities. Winners and finalists are selected by judging committees composed of community leaders and subject-matter experts
Camosun Innovates connects applied learning and applied research, design thinking and interdisciplinary inquiry, productivity improvement and tech-savvy intention. Recent projects include design and manufacturing of competitive equipment for Olympic para-athletes, and advanced manufacturing processes informed by real-time digital feedback.
