Tʼuyʼtʼtanat-Cease Wyss is a Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó꞉lō, Kānaka Maoli (Hawaiian), Irish-Métis, and Swiss multi-media artist, ethnobotanist, independent curator, educator, activist, and small business owner based in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The sculptural installation consists of a ceremonial cape, photographs, and materials such as Lauhala, coconut hull fiber, seagrass, red cedar bark, wool, abalone shell, and mother of pearl buttons that are used by makers from the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and Hawaiian territories.
An empty lot at 271 Union Street was transformed into a Pacific Northwest Coast rainforest garden[4] containing flora representing the local biodiversity that can be found across the traditional and unceded lands of the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.
[5] The project is based on permaculture movements, which explore the interconnectivity of different forms of life within a particular ecosystem, and showcased an understanding of the holistic interconnectedness that is represented in Indigenous knowledge systems, in this case, traditional Coast Salish ways of knowing.
The process involved communication with developers and Parks and Recreation staff from the City of Vancouver, as well as the public, to build connections and shift consciousness and awareness of bioremediation, land-stewardship, and reconciliation.
The poles, which were created as part of a collaborative effort, depict words written in the many languages spoken by the community and allude to the role of the talking stick in Indigenous oral traditions.