(14) FOR THE PEOPLE
Smoker Marchand, 2015
Big White Ski Resort Ltd
This sculpture was created by Okanagan Nation member, Smoker Marchand, and is a reflection of the Westbank First Nation (WFN) logo. It is a gift from WFN to Big White Ski Resort Ltd. in acknowledgment of the positive relationship that has been embraced and continues to benefit people of all walks of life.
“For the People” symbolizes the history, culture and cəpcəptikʷəɬ (legends) that are the foundation of the Okanagan/syilx peoples’ ways of being. The inclusion of skəmxist (bear), senḱlip (coyote) and nx̌aʔx̌ʔitkʷ (Spirit of the Lake, Ogopogo) acknowledges that the Okanagan peoples’ history began during a time when only the plant and animal people walked this earth. It was the world before this world.