Projects & Partnerships
The Healing Place • Tsi Tesakotitsén:tha
My partner and I are passionately dedicated to developing a sustainable farm for healing and learning, a project that is very close to our hearts and core purpose.
Immerse yourself in environments that honour traditional wisdom, skills, and practices, all while embracing a healthy, regenerative, sustainable, and economically viable future.
I'm pleased to share the photos of our most recent project through BGIS for the CRA office in Kelowna. It was a 40-foot-long and 4-foot-high mural that spanned the meeting room.
Honouring Land, Culture, and Connection
This mural reflects the deep ties between people, place, and the living history of the Syilx (Okanagan) territory. Set against the iconic backdrop of regional mountains and lake, the artwork features the Four Food Chiefs—Black Bear (sk̓̓əmx̌íst ), Bitterroot (sp̓iƛ̓m̓), Salmon (nty̓tyix), and Saskatoon Berry (síyaʔ)—central to Syilx teachings, governance, and traditional ecological knowledge. You will also find the mysterious na’ha‐a‐ikt (Ogopogo) and the ubiquitous yutəl̓x (Raven) represented.
At the heart of the image stand a man and a woman, representing balance, stewardship, and the intergenerational connection between past, present, and future. Their presence reminds us that all people have a role to play in nurturing respectful relationships with each other and with the land we call home.
Created through The Healing Place, this mural is the work of artist David Fierro (Xa Xa Smanxwt) of the Okanagan Westbank First Nation alongside his spouse and graphic designer, Susheela Kundargi. They currently reside and create on Mayne Island (S,ḴŦAḴ), BC, bringing forward stories of healing, place-based knowledge, and cultural resurgence.
"We are honoured to share this artwork
as a gesture of reconciliation
and celebration of Indigenous
presence and wisdom."
"When we heal the land, we heal the people.
When we heal the people, people reconnect to everything.
Through this reconnection, we realize everything is sacred.
With this awareness, we embrace our responsibility.
We become empowered with humility."
