Thursday (March 13) morning was cause for celebration at Agassiz Elementary Secondary School.
AESS is now home to a new house post, courtesy of Sts'ailes carver Peter Prevost. Representatives from the school district board, Seabird Island (Sq'éwqel) and the Sts'ailes community unveiled the new post in a ceremony on Thursday.
Prevost said the process to carve the 12-foot-tall house post took eight months. The post features symbols of several local First Nations: Sts'ailes (Sasquatch), Cheam (female mountain goat), Sq'éwlets and Seabird Island (a bend in the river and salmon).
Prevost said the detail of a female mountain goat was particularly important due to the importance of women in First Nations cultures across the Fraser Valley and beyond. The female goat's horns are straighter than the male's more curved horns.
"(Women) are the knowledge keepers; they hold our special gifts and are the matriarchs of our society," he said. "A female goat (carving) was a good fit."
The old growth western red cedar log that would become the house post was destined to become roof shingles until Prevost intervened.
"The log itself is 450 years old," Prevost told The Obsever. "I did the math on that, and it was a one-year-old sapling in 1574."
Prevost finished the carving at the school before the ceremony.
"The kids were surprised," he recalled. "They couldn't believe how tall it was."
AESS is home to several cultural symbols and works of art reflecting the culture of the local First Nations. In 2022, the school was presented with an eagle mask, which is on display at the front of the school. AESS alum Jonas Jones carved the mask; the eagle represents unity among the staff and students. The front of the school is adorned with a mural featuring an eagle soaring above the lands and waters of the Pilalt peoples. Artist Carrielynn Victor (Xémontalot) title the piece "pélawtxw medicine bowl", which refers to the mountains forming a "medicine bowl" around the Agassiz area.
House posts can be seen throughout Fraser-Cascade School District 78, welcoming students, staff and teachers to the traditional territories of their respective First Nations in a tangible way.
There are several welcome figures and house posts in the Agassiz-Harrison community. For example, three years ago, the All-Saints Anglican Church in Agassiz received a house post from the Sto:lo First Nation, carved by Coast Salish Artist Luke Pike (Swoli:u:se).
