DAVID WILSON SOOKINAKIN PICTOGRAPH ROOTS
Photo credit: Richard Fogarty
DAVID WILSON SOOKINAKIN
Vernon Public Art Gallery
January 9 - March 5, 2025
Catalogue of an exhibition held at the Vernon Public Art Gallery 3228 - 31st Avenue, Vernon, British Columbia, V1T 2H3, Canada
January 9 - March 5, 2025
Production: Vernon Public Art Gallery
Editor: Lubos Culen
Layout and graphic design: Vernon Public Art Gallery
Front cover: Returning to the Land, 2023, acrylic on canvas, 66 x 66 in Printing: Get Colour Copies, Vernon, British Columbia, Canada
ISBN 978-1-927407-87-5
Copyright © 2024 Vernon Public Art Gallery
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the Vernon Public Art Gallery. Requests for permission to use these images should be addressed in writing to the Vernon Public Art Gallery, 3228 31st Avenue, Vernon BC, V1T 2H3, Canada. Telephone: 250.545.3173, website: www. vernonpublicartgallery.com.
The Vernon Public Art Gallery is a registered not-for-profit society. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee/RDNO, the Province of BC’s Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch, British Columbia Arts Council, the Government of Canada, corporate donors, sponsors, general donations and memberships. Charitable Organization # 108113358RR.
This exhibition is sponsored in part by:
1 Executive Director’s Foreword · Dauna Kennedy
2 Introduction · Lubos Culen
4 David Wilson Sookinakin: Artist with Pictograph Roots · Bill Cohen
6 Artist Statement
7 Images of Artwork in the Exhibition
56 Curriculum Vitae · David Wilson Sookinakin
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S FOREWORD
I am thrilled to be a part of creating this publication to document the new work of David Wilson Sookinakin – a Syilx artist who has been taking great strides in developing his signature style of painting. Inspired by pictographs found on various sites throughout Syilx Nation territory, this work strives to document local animals and the re-telling of traditional stories through his exhibition: Pictograph Roots.
We are glad that Dr. Bill Cohen of the Syilx Okanagan Nation was able to join us in this endeavor by providing an essay delving into Wilson’s work. An artist and educator, kikwa/grandfather, and faculty member of UBC Okanagan School of Education, Bill’s personal research focuses around the transformative potential of Indigenous and Syilx knowledge and pedagogy through the revitalization of its historical roots. I’d like to thank Lubos Culen for his ongoing efforts in providing a diverse exhibition schedule for the Vernon Public Art Gallery and for his efforts in bringing this exhibition to light.
I would also like to acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia, the Regional District of the North Okanagan, and the BC Arts Council, whose funding enables us to produce exhibitions such as this for the residents and visitors of the North Okanagan region and interested parties across Canada.
Regards,
Dauna Kennedy Executive Director Vernon Public Art Gallery
DAVID WILSON SOOKINAKIN: PICTOGRAPH
ROOTS - INTRODUCTION
The exhibition titled Pictograph Roots was created by David Wilson Sookinakin, a member of the Syilx Okanagan Nation. The exhibition consists of eight large-scale paintings complemented with 150 small-sized artwork displayed on a grid on the wall. In addition to the two-dimensional artwork, a seven-foot canoe is positioned in the middle of the gallery space.
Over the years, Wilson has developed a signature style of paintings based on the traditional pictographs found on numerous locations throughout Syilx Nation Territory. He uses pictorial elements which often illustrate some of the stories and narratives passed down through oral tradition and storytelling. In addition to the traditional narratives, Wilson creates narratives which he invents to highlight the context of postcontact experiences of First Nations peoples. Nevertheless, Wilson’s artforms have been evolving over several decades of his prolific artistic career.
David Wilson Sookinakin was born and raised in the Vernon area and is a member of the Okanagan Indian Band. He discovered Interior Salish pictographs in a book when he was 12, and later, while taking business courses, he learned Native art forms from Coastal Salish and Haida artists living in Vancouver.
After the exploration of West Coast and Plains First Nations’ art forms, Wilson started to draw inspiration from his connection to the Syilx Okanagan Nation art. He continued to study Syilx pictographs, first in historic publications in the local museum, later in various First Nations art books and on-line. Most of his subject matter is focused on water as a sacred element which nourishes life, brings the salmon to rivers and lakes, and indicates travel and trading.
The canoe is populated by seven figures based on Wilson’s characters, often relating to old and invented narratives. The symbolism of the number seven is often found cross-culturally and it is referenced in the artist’s work of what he refers to as ‘seven warriors’. The canoe has images of Ogopogo, the mystical creature of the Okanagan Lake, on both sides of the canoe. It was carved from a Yellow Cedar block on the Okanagan Indian Band Reserve and finished in the artist’s studio in Vernon. Here, Wilson combines traditional skills of canoe carving with laser-cut and powder coated metal technologies to manufacture the figures. The artist visits elementary and secondary schools and invites the students to participate in the creation of murals on schools’ properties. During the process of creating the murals, the students are introduced to the values and history of local First Nations Peoples.
Even though Wilson’s pictographs were inspired by the traditional pictographs, over the years he invented new pictograph forms. These are related to traditional stories and complemented by images of animals,
fish, and insects, which he invented. His images also depict various landscapes and flora. Many images feature the circle as the dominant compositional element, employed as a visual and symbolic factor in the cyclical nature in the universe.
Wilson’s dedication and pursuit of the study of ancient pictographs together with his newly created pictographic images and storytelling makes his artwork a valuable cultural asset. Wilson’s artwork is deeply symbolic and reflects the Syilx Nation’s traditional values, but also it enhances one’s perception of the contemporary means of cultural expression and production.
Lubos Culen Curator
Vernon Public Art Gallery
DAVID WILSON SOOKINAKIN: PXPAXT ARTIST WITH PICTOGRAPH ROOTS
by Bill Cohen
Sookinakin, David Wilson’s skwist or traditional name will sound familiar to Okanagan residents because “Okanagan” is an anglicized version of Sookinakin, or suknaqínx in nsyilxcn orthography, his name is also the original and continuing name of the Indigenous people who are part of a larger Syilx group whose language is nsyilxcn. Many will have experienced Sookinakin’s art in airports, on Vancouver streets, numerous elementary and high schools, and many art galleries. Sookinakin has made a consistent practice of engaging children and communities in pxpaxt creative projects which reconnect the current generation to tmixʷ life gifts, and to collective responsibilities to create a food and wellness secure future, a continuous process of collective knowledge and imagination.
There are many creative and visionary concepts in nsyilxcn, the language of Syilx peoples. The word for people or humans is “Sqilxʷ, which in a literal translation means the dream in a spiral. We recognize our individual lives as the continuance of human dreams,” (Armstrong, 1991, p. 111) coming to reality in a spiraling, interconnecting, interdependent way. David Wilson’s Sqilxʷ name is appropriately, Sookinakin, a version in English font of suknaqínx. In English, a name is a what, as in “What’s your name?” In nsyilxcn, a name, a skwist, is a who. In this context, Sookinakin has multiple relational meanings, towards the top of the head or mind, being at the top of a high cliff and are seen and heard from far away, and the inverse, seeing and hearing far into the future responsibly. suknaqínx is the name of the people whose homeland is situated in the Okanagan watershed and extends into the Nicola Valley, and across the Canada-US border. David Wilson - Sookinakin is a pxpaxt Artist, pxpaxt refers to flint being scraped, the sparks ignite the fire, bringing warmth and light to the group, a conceptual metaphor for collective wisdom and new understanding. Pictograph Roots, Sookinakin’s current exhibition, is a pxpaxt creative expression of the renewal and continuing evolution of Syilx and Interior Salish art. Pictograph Roots, embodies the concept of Sqilxʷ, the dream in a spiral, learning from the past continuously, being alert in the present, and making the world safe for future generations. We can never go back in time, but we can learn from the past, reconnect to appreciative and sustaining relationships with the natural world and each other, and create a world of dreams, love of life, respect and appreciation for diversity, as our legacy for future generations.
I had the opportunity recently to reconnect with David Wilson Sookinakin, and his creative process with children in a project, Artists in the Classroom, at Peter Greer Elementary in Lake Country, a collaborative effort between teachers, Indigenous Advocate Rose Alexis, and the Parents’ Advisory Committee to change the school logo, from a clipart eagle image, to a more place-based image reflecting Syilx Okanagan esthetics which extend from who Syilx Okanagan know as tmixʷ, the very diverse life force strands from water, earth, plant and animal communities in this part of the world that give us everything we need to live well. This project looked to weave together art, learning together, and story, for students to gain a deeper appreciation
for the Syilx Okanagan people and territorial ecology, a hotspot for ecological diversity in the world. It was a wonderful event where Syilx Okanagan Elders, educators, and families gathered with Peter Greer children, Principal, teachers and staff, and School District Leadership, to engage in storytelling (which was my role) more directly with the captíkʷɬ, the Syilx Okanagan traditional knowledge system, share food, knowledge, talent, and celebrate the new school logo which came out of Sookinakin’s work with the children and teachers.
Syilx Okanagan artists, storytellers of the ancient past, up to and including current artists and performers, collectively passed on artforms, creativity, and storytelling. Wisdom and creativity went into stories, baskets, rock paintings, and ceremonies. These collective ways of responsibilities to tmixʷ life forces were interrupted by colonial and patriarchal violence, that is also the story of settlement, land thefts, the Indian Reserve System, Residential Schools, racist and genocidal legislation. Syilx Okanagan, Interior Salish and Indigenous peoples have survived the efforts to erase us. We have survived because of the strength, vision and creativity of families, of matriarchs, Elders who have worked and struggled to maintain connections with tmixʷ, the water, earth, plant and animal communities who sustain us. Many community leaders emerged over generations to make conditions better. David Wilson -Sookinakin emerged as an artist. He has renewed and paralleled the community role of storyteller by engaging generations of children/students in painting and mural projects with images evoking Syilx relationships with water, earth, everything that moves, and everything that grows in one of the most ecologically diverse regions in the world. The pictograph forms, tmixʷ shapes, colours of mountains, sunsets, lakes, streams, and interconnections, nested systems, which make up Syilx, and Interior Salish territories are expressed and felt in Pictograph Roots. The tmixʷ images will be useful for nsyilxcn language learners, for kids in schools to learn about the incredibly diverse communities of tmixʷ which make up Interior Salish homelands.
David Wilson – Sookinakin has contributed much to the development of a distinctly Syilx Okanagan art style through his research into and inspiration from Syilx and Interior Salish pictograph images from sacred sites in Interior Salish homelands. He has also completed numerous collaborations with youth to develop and support emerging Interior Salish artists. This latest exhibit has much potential to inspire more Syilx and Interior Salish artists to connect to land-based artforms and responsibilities to the tmixʷ (water, earth, plant and animal life forces), as well as educate and motivate the larger public to appreciate and take care of the tmixʷ who take care of us with life, food, medicine, home gifts. This place-based imagination is fundamental to restoring the health of Indigenous territorial ecologies, and the earth, in this era of climate change, fires, floods, pandemics, violence against life givers, mothers and the earth mother.
Pictograph Roots reconnects imagery and creativity from Syilx/Interior Salish ancestors. We, a collective “We” of all peoples, need artists like David Wilson Sookinakin, whose work and lives contribute to what could be, the continuing story of very diverse communities creating a food and wellness secure future. Those are the creative embers from our ancestors, and those are the sparks ignited by Sookinakin Pictograph Roots.
Work cited:
Armstrong, Jeannette C., and Cardinal, Douglas. (1991). The Native Creative Process. Penticton, BC: Theytus Books Ltd
Dr. Bill Cohen is from the Syilx Okanagan Nation with extensive kinship ties throughout BC and Washington. An artist and educator, kikwa/grandfather, and faculty member of UBC Okanagan School of Education. The focus of Bill’s continuing research is to identify, understand and theorize the transforming potential of Indigenous and Syilx knowledge and pedagogy through organic language and cultural knowledge revitalization. He has organized numerous community-based, school, arts, language, and literacy projects involving elders, fluent speakers, parents and children. .
DAVID
WILSON SOOKINAKIN
– STATEMENT AND SHORT BIOGRAPHY
“My art is ever evolving and is a true representation of my identity as a Interior Salish person. It is natural evolution of pictographs from their ancient form to a contemporary interpretation using form lines unique to First Nations art. I am a storyteller through art and words and my message to the Interior Salish people and the world is that we Interior Salish have at least one beautiful and vibrant First Nations art form totally unique and must be shared with the world.”
As a boy in the 1960s Wilson explored Vernon’s libraries for Indigenous artwork, and found traditional totem carvings, Inuit, Haida, Tsimshian, and Kwakwaka’wakw art. Within the Vernon Museum’s archives, he discovered one publication of Interior Salish pictographs, the traditional artform of his Sylix Okanagan ancestors.
In the 1980s Wilson wanted to celebrate and illuminate the existence of the sacred pictographs. With his passion and inspiration from both Interior Salish artwork and Syilx elder Barry Brewer, he began to study business at Langara College in the 1990s and was mentored by Coast Salish and Haida traditional artists.
Wilson’s work has been exhibited in private and public art galleries throughout British Columbia and installed in numerous community locations in the Okanagan and Lower Mainland. He has been commissioned by multiple agencies and his artwork can be viewed in Syilx Okanagan government buildings, communities, First Nation Friendship societies, BC government offices, three BC school districts, Okanagan colleges, UBC Okanagan, Vernon Performing Arts Center and the Kelowna International Airport.
Wilson was commissioned to create the official sports logos for the 2023 BC Winter Games and launched Sookinakin Signature Clothing Line.
He is the 2012 recipient of the British Columbia Creative Achievement Award for First Nations Art.
ARTWORK IN THE EXHIBITION
Turtle Rocky Mountain Spine
2024 , acrylic on canvas, 66 x 66 in in
2024 , acrylic on canvas, 66 x 66 in in
Great Blue Heron Dance
2024 , acrylic on canvas, 66 x 66 in in
The Gathering
2024 , acrylic on canvas, 66 x 66 in in
White Birch Creek, Fish Chief
2024 , acrylic on canvas, 66 x 66 in in
Spotted Lake 2024 , acrylic on canvas, 66 x 66 in in
Spring Salmon Harvest
2024 , acrylic on canvas, 66 x 66 in in
Seven Wariors - Canoe
2024 , Yellow Cedar and laser cut, powder coated metal, 60 x 84 x 36 in
Seven Wariors - Canoe (detail)
2024 , Yellow Cedar and laser cut, powder coated metal, 60 x 84 x 36 in
Seven Wariors - Canoe (detail)
2024 , Yellow Cedar and laser cut, powder coated metal, 60 x 84 x 36 in
Appaloosa
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Bold Eagle
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Barn Owl
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Bees
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Black Swan
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Brook Traut
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Bullfrog
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Bull Snake (Gopher Snake)
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Bull
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Caribou Cow acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Carp
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Catterpillar acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Colt
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Crawfish
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Dolly Varden Trout acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Domestic Goat
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Domestic Pig
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Dragonfly
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Fawn
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Golden Eagle
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Great Blue Heron
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Great orned Owl
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Hummingbird acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Kamloops Troutl
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Kokanee
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Lizzard
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Moths
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Mule
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Ogopogo acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Quail
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Rainbow Trout acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Rattle Snake
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Snail
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Sockeye Salmon acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Sparrow Hawk acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Steelhead Trout
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Sunfish acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Tadpole
acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
Whitefish acrylic on cradled birch panel, 12 x 12 in
David Wilson Sookinakin
CURRICULUM VITAE
EXHIBITIONS
- SOLO
2025 Pictograph Roots; Vernon Public Art Gallery January – March
2024 Starbucks; Public Viewing - 66” X 66” Acrylic on Canvas March through November
2023 Grizzley Winery, Lake Country BC– 66” X 66” Acrylic on Canvas, Traditional Hand Drums
2021 Pictographic Reflections - Launch: Pictograph Photo-tiles Monashee Art Council
2020 Water Travels a Cycle, Kelowna Airport - Satellite Gallery, Kelowna Art Gallery
2013 David Wilson, acrylic on canvas, Headbones Gallery Vernon, BC
2012 We Still Follow the Water, Vernon Public Art Gallery, Vernon, BC
2012 We follow the Way of Water, the Alternator Gallery, Kelowna Rotary of the Arts
2010 Celebration of Salish Pictographs, Salmon Arm Art Gallery, Salmon Arm BC
2010 David Wilson Sookinakin, Vernon Museum, BC
2010 Sookinakin Art Armstrong Spalumcheen Art Gallery, Armstrong, BC
2007 Power That Comes in the Form of a Circle, Vernon Pubic Art Gallery, BC
EXHIBITIONS
- COLLABORATIVE
2021 Headbones Gallery; Full Collection - David Wilson Sookinakin, Julie Oaks, Owner - Artist
2021 Syilx collaborative, “Tmixw”- Acrylic on Canvas, Water Series Grizzli Winery, Westbank BC
2019 Sylix Indigenous Artists – “Atklokem” Lake Country Art Gallery
2019 Indigenous Artists; My Home and Native Land, Paintings Penticton Art Gallery
2019 “A Seat at the Table” Indigenous Traditional Foods, Paintings
2018 Molecular Weight of Water, Lake Country Art Gallery
2016 July – Members Exhibit; Headbones Art Gallery – consecutive since 2016
2015 November – Members Exhibit; Headbones Art Gallery
2015 September – Celebrating First Nations Art and Culture – Kelowna Rotary Center for Arts
2011 Alternator Post Card Exhibit / Fundraiser, Alternator Gallery, Kelowna, BC
2011 Midsummer Eve of the Arts Fundraiser, Vernon Public Art Gallery, Vernon, BC
2011 Geo-Tag-Art, Alternator Gallery for Contemporary Art, Kelowna, BC
2009 Heritage, Vernon Public Art Gallery, BC
2006 Roads to Indigenous Journeys, Vernon Public Art Gallery, BC
COMMISSIONS
2023 School District #22, Syilx Pictograph Library; 150 paintings on 12” X 12” cradled birch panel boards with animal images with Nsyilxen language titles
2023 Okanagan Rail Trail, Vernon BC – artwork; Okanagan Sylix Interpretive Signage
2023 - 2022 BC Winter Games; official sport logos 2022 BC Winter Games; honoring the Sylix Okanagan Nation
2023 2022 BC Winter Games; created artwork for “Sookinakin Signature Line” sportwear
2023 School District #22 Vernon – School Board; three acrylic on canvas paintings, 66” X 66”each
2021 UBC, 2022 Indigenous Student Handbook - in collaboration with Musqueam Fico-artist
2021 SD #22 BX Elementary , acrylic on 48” round cradled panel board - Bear Theme
2020 Lake Country Art Commission; Virtual Art Walk submission; Acrylic on Adirondack Chair
2020 North Okanagan Minor Lacrosse Association, Association Logo
2020 E’cole Beairsto Elementary School, Logo
2019 Northern Lights, public art installation University of British Columbia Okanagan
2019 Spirit Rider - public art installation, University of British Columbia Okanagan
2019 Traditional Territory Study - public art installation, University British Columbia Okanagan
2018 Selected Water Series – BC Hydro Decorative Wrap Project location: Denman / Davies streets
2018 Coyote, Mural, 5’ X 5’ School District 23 – George Elliot Secondary School
2017 BC Hydro Wrap Project Vancouver, BC: two locations: Granville & Robson St., 5th & Main Street
2016 The Story of Our Ways –Digital Book; Sylix Traditional Teaching Resource, BC Ministry Ed.
2016 School District #22, Vernon, Mura, 5’ x 5’; Hillview Elementary
2016 School District #22, Vernon, Mural, 12’ x 8’, Harwood Elementary School
2015 School District #22, Vernon, Murall, 4’ x 5’, Coldstream Elementary School
2015 Star Blanket of Life, 5’ x 3’, Permanent Public Art Installation, Vernon Hospital, Polson Tower
2015 School District #22, Mural,12’ x 8’, Vernon Silver Star Elementary School
2015 School District #22, Thank-you for All You Have Done For Aboriginal Graduates, 18” x 18” Framed Prints exhibited throughout SD #22
2014 School District #22, 26’ Cottonwood Canoe - Painted Mirror Image Fulton School
MURALS
2021 D #22 Kalamalka High School Student Mentorship, 12’ X 8’ - Rainbow Warrior
2019 School District #23, Gymnasium Mural, Coyote, 5’ X 5’ ft.
2013 School District #22, Vernon, Mural 4’ x 5’, Seaton High School
2013 School District #22, 3’ x 4’, Board of Education Boardroom, Vernon BC
2013 Brushed Aluminum, 3’ x 3’, Spirit Square Park, Collaboration Vernon Museum / Vernon City
2013 The Elder’s Project, Okanagan Knowledge Chapbook
2012 Sacred Okanagan Waters, Canvas, 3’ x 3’, Council Chambers-Vernon City Hall
2012 Great Sacred Flower Tree, Canvas, 3’ x 3’, Council Chambers-Vernon City Hall
2011 Return of the Owl Clan, painting, 5.5’ x 7’, Performing Arts Centre, Vernon BC
2011 Changing Seasons, painting, 2’ x 5.5’ x 7’, Donor Wall - Vernon Jubilee Hospital
2011 Large double-sided Pow Wow Drum, 30 inches diameter, Little Hawk Drumming Group, (First Nations Pow Wow Drum Group)
2011 Sun Man and Eagle, 16’ diameter Tepee; Armstrong Interior Provincial Exhibition
2010 Bear Dreams Two-Legged Power, 4’ x 4’, Kelowna Community Theatre
2010 Fulton High School Mural, SD #22, Vernon
2008 Every New Day Reach For the Stars, 12’ x 16’, Logo, Vernon Friendship Centre
2001 Frog, 12 x 12 “Kla How Ya, Logo, Vernon Friendship Center
1996 Traditional Button Blanket Design; Theatrical Backdrop, 19’ x 9’, Vancouver Friend. Centre
HONOURS
2023 Official artwork of the 2022 BC Winter Games and Sookinakin Signature Clothing Line
2019 Artwork chosen for cover of Penticton Public Art Gallery Publication
2017 Sacred Spotted Lake, chosen to promote BC Heritage Week 2017 and Canada 150 by Central Okanagan Heritage Society
2013 Published works; David Wilson – Paintings, Headbones Gallery, June 2013, Oaks, Julie, retrieved from www.youblisher.com/p/714748-David-Wilson-Paintings/
2012 November British Columbia Creative Achievement Award for First Nations Art