Kwantlen First Nation artists bring traditional murals to Langley Fine Arts School

A long-awaited partnership between Kwantlen First Nation artists and students at Langley Fine Arts School (LFAS) is finally underway, bringing vibrant new murals to the exterior of the Fort Langley school.

Coast Salish artist Miməwqθelət (Elinor Atkins), with help from her mother and brother q̓ʷɑti̓cɑ (Phyllis Atkins), is leading a collaborative project that will see a dozen doors and two pillars at the school painted with traditional-style murals featuring imagery important to Kwantlen First Nation.

For Miməwqθelət, a graduate of LFAS in 2016, the project is a dream come true.

“It feels amazing,” she said. “I was an art major here at the school and I always kind of wanted the school to be painted, and to be colorful and feel more like an arts school on the outside at least,” she continued.

Adam Moore, Langley Fine Arts School principal said the partnership between the artists and the school reflects [the school’s] “respect and admiration for the Kwantlen community and the land on which staff and students work and play.”

“This beautiful work has been featured many times in Fort Langley and schools across the District. In addition, we have been fortunate to have artists and educators from Kwantlen First Nation come and work with students from K-12 many times over the years,” Moore commented.

Before designing and painting the murals, Miməwqθelət collaborated with Fine Arts students, who shared their own ideas after learning about local animals and plant life.

“They drew their own little draft drawings that I got to look at. Then for my designs, I took reference from their drawings and influence from their ideas, and then put that into my work so they can see it on the school,” she explained.

Some of the images that will be featured in the project include the raven, which represents intelligence, the heron, which represents “staying on the right path” and self-reflection, the moon, which represents “truth and intuition,” the sun and moon, which are part of the creation story, and the wolf, which is the “clan animal” of Kwantlen First Nation.

The two pillars at the front entrance of the school will be painted with sturgeon, which also represent the Kwantlen First Nation culture.

“We wanted to honour our family line here on our traditional unceded territory,” said q̓ʷɑti̓cɑ. “It was important for us also because Kwantlen is largely a fishing community. Our people have been fishing for generations,” they continued.

For Miməwqθelət, adding Indigenous imagery to the school is about more than just brightening up the school’s exterior. She hopes that the completed murals will serve as “a teaching wall, so that the kids can come and learn the stories that go behind each animal.”

According to Moore, the project is expected to be completed by Spring break.

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