House Post of c̓səmlenəxʷ

Explore the century-long history of the first Indigenous art piece on campus.

Approaching the entrance of “Salish” house in Totem Park Residence, at the western terminus of Thunderbird Boulevard, I found it easy to miss the unassuming “Man Meets Bear,” a four-meter-tall house post installed in 1974.

At the time, I thought it was a house post, but after consulting Jordan Wilson’s insightful guidebook on Musqueam house posts on campus, qeqən: Musqueam House Posts, I learned that its flat backing technically makes it a house board, which is crafted to be attached to a wall or sturdier post rather than standing independently.

I also learned that the board (or house post, as it is still called) replicates Musqueam’s c̓səmlenəxʷ house post, which was installed on campus in 1927 before it was moved to the Museum of Anthropology’s collections in the 1940s.

According to The Tsimalano Board, a MOA collections document, the late ethnographer Wayne Suttles recorded that the post portrays c̓səmlenəxʷ (also spelled Tsimalano), the descendant of a founding ancestor of a Musqueam village, in the act of hunting.

Specifically, it shows c̓səmlenəxʷ holding a knife in one hand and a ritualist’s rattle in the other while using his supernatural ability to subdue a bear in its den with a chant—a vivid depiction of his unique power.

The late Vince Stogan of Musqueam, a descendant of c̓səmlenəxʷ who also held his name, described in the same MOA document how house posts like the c̓səmlenəxʷ one symbolized the heritage and status of families and framed the doors of family homes to show visitors whose home they were entering.

Wilson, who is Musqueam, elaborates on how the House Post of c̓səmlenəxʷ, including the related House Post of qiyəplenəxʷ, took on new meaning during the McKenna-McBride Royal Commission in 1913, a government initiative that sought to redefine reserve boundaries across British Columbia, often to the detriment of First Nations communities.

During the Commission hearings at Musqueam, both posts were displayed outside the catechism hall, marking the entrance not to a single family’s home but instead symbolizing Musqueam as a nation to their non-Indigenous visitors. This marked a notable shift in the role of the c̓səmlenəxʷ and qiyəplenəxʷ house posts—from solely serving as personal lineage markers to also representing collective identity.

MOA indicates that years before this, in 1902, archaeologist Harlan I. Smith tried to acquire the two posts for the Smithsonian Museum in New York, but Canada’s Department of Indian Affairs blocked this effort. This attempt illustrates perfectly how salvage anthropology, which describes the colonial practice of collecting and documenting a culture deemed to be decline, was in full swing at the time.

Later, in 1927, Smith returned with a proposal to purchase the posts from the Musqueam rights holder and relocate them to the nascent University of British Columbia. 

Soon after, in possibly the first instance of Indigenous “outdoor art” being displayed at the university, according to Wilson, UBC’s graduating class of 1927 funded the purchase, restoration, and installation of the posts at the Botanical Gardens.

Years later, in the 1940s, after Arts faculty member Hunter C. Lewis, an avid supporter of First Nations art, complained to UBC President Leonard Klinck about their deteriorating condition, the posts were taken down and became part of MOA’s collections, where they now reside.

After researching “Man Meets Bear,” which is likely the third version of the c̓səmlenəxʷ house post, it became obvious that the accompanying plaque is missing some key things. While it acknowledges the carver, “Simon Charlie, a member of the Salish People” (who was Cowichan), it doesn’t mention Musqueam, nor the fascinating story of the c̓səmlenəxʷ house post and what it represents to them. Instead, it is simply referred to as a “welcome pole.”

On this point, Wilson remarks: “The plaque, then, with its invented title and its omission of c̓səmlenəxʷ further disconnects this post from its origins, namely its family connections, as well as its association with Musqueam. By rendering it a “welcome pole,” the post seems more connected to the thematic of Totem Park, perhaps intended to welcome students to their temporary homes at UBC, as opposed to Musqueam welcoming visitors to its unceded territory.”

The more I thought about the c̓səmlenəxʷ house post’s long and complex history, from its beginning as a family symbol to its role in representing Musqueam nationhood during a pivotal colonial encounter, as well as its century-long presence on campus, I came to realize it actually tells a story of Musqueam resilience and adaptation. 

The replica house post at Totem Park, once vibrant and detailed, but now faded after 50 years of weathering and softened under a layer of moss, could easily speak to this rich history with new signage.

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Sources

• qeqən: Musqueam House Posts (Jordan Wilson)
• Tsimalano House Board (Museum of Anthropology)
• House Post of qiyǝplenǝxʷ (Museum of Anthropology)
• Lewis Family fonds (UBC Library)

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This article was written by Kylie Krueger (Métis), 3^rd year Double Major in Physics & Computer Science, with contributions from Kevin Ward, Research and Communications Officer, First Nations House of Learning.

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