The Invictus Games have arrived in Vancouver, and students from the Squamish Nation Nexw7áýstwaý Training and Trades Centre (TTC) can see their work on the podium.
KPU instructor Terry Williams (left) working with student Billie-Reyez Blaney (right).
The TTC was approached by the Invictus Games an athletic competition founded by Prince Harry for wounded, injured or sick service personnel and veterans to create 50 ornate containers for the medals.
"We've done projects for our community, but nothing as big as this," says Milissa Lewis, Squamish Nation Employment and Future Skills Director.
Lewis approached Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) carpentry instructor Terry Williams to create a special course, specifically for this project.
"At the time, Terry was finishing up our carpentry program," says Lewis. "So, he was available to help us create a woodworking course for students to gain skills while creating these legacy pieces."
Williams taught 13 Squamish Nation students, all of whom were trained on shop equipment.
"The original design that we came up with was of an Indigenous paddle with recessed spots for the gold, silver and bronze medals," says Williams. "However, the people behind the Invictus Games felt it was too large."
Their next idea was to create a tray in the shape of an Indigenous ovoid a prominent shape in First Nations art which required students to bend wood using steam.
"It was a lot of work," says Williams. "We quickly realized how difficult it would be to make 50 of these in the time we were given."
That's when the TTC approached Shain Jackson, owner of Spirit Works Limited a company that produces authentic Indigenous art products to collaborate on another design.
"We have a great relationship with the Squamish Nation trade school," says Jackson. "Every once in a while, we'll do a project with them and train some youth. When we saw that the school was working with the Invictus Games, we thought it would be really neat to collaborate and to come up with something really interesting."
Jackson is Coast Salish, from the Sechelt (shíshálh) First Nation, and he has experience making bentwood boxes a traditional container used by First Nations up and down the coast. Jackson was able to adjust the measurements to the required size, and the Invictus Games enthusiastically accepted the new design.
Unique in their construction, each box has taken over 30 hours to create. The body is made from a single piece of West Coast cedar, providing students with valuable joinery skills while also immersing them in traditional cultural practices.
Four pieces of inlaid Abalone shell adorn the outer edge of the lid, representing the Four Host First Nations of the Games.
Jackson says the success of the project comes down to the First Nations' value of collaboration.
"It's about unity within diversity. When we all come together, we usually end up with something pretty amazing."
Up to 550 athletes from 23 nations are taking part in the Invictus Games, from Feb. 8 to 16 in Whistler and Vancouver.
