Jade Hanuse is a Nuxalk, Kwakwaka’wakw and Wuikinuxv artist from British Columbia. Jade mentored under master carver Dempsey Bob to create To Think About Salmon for her Emerging Artist Scholarship. To Think About Salmon was exhibited in the group exhibition Indigeneity Rising: Celebrating Our People, Our Stories, and Our Traditions at the Museum of Vancouver in 2021.
To think about salmon, 2020
Yellow cedar carved panel, accented with washes of acrylic paint
To think about salmon (detail), 2020
Yellow cedar carved panel, accented with washes of acrylic paint
“During salmon season the Nuxalkmc feasted, the bears fished, the eagles had their share. The river supplies our main source of diet. Back then the salmon swam to us in thousands. The ancestral laws on how to take care of our rivers and lands were handed down to us from generations of teachings. Every family had an Alhtutusxayaaxm (River Guardian) that upheld their duties in maintaining their section of the river. River Guardians upheld the laws and monitored activities on the river. This is a practice we must return to for the survival of the salmon and ourselves. My hope is to bring continued awareness to how vital our salmon are to not only the Nuxalkmc, but the animals we share these lands with. This discussion is ongoing and essential to Indigenous ways of being.”
– Jade Hanuse
