In early January the Salish Weave kit arrived at Mitchell Elementary with great excitement. The Salish Weave is a collection of 9 pieces of contemporary Coast Salish art that weaves together the distinctive art form, designs, and style of emerging and established Coast Salish Artists. This set was gifted to our school district as our district is in the traditional Salish territories.

For 3 weeks, students and teachers have had opportunities to not only build awareness of Salish art and artists, but to grow in their appreciation and understanding of Indigenous perspectives. Students and teachers were invited to use the wooden shapes included in the kit to explore symmetry, patterns, movement (through design), positive and negative shapes and connect these ideas to pieces in the Salish Weave kit. Students and teachers were also given permission to respond respectfully to the artwork through individual or group art making activities and/or written responses.

This exploration was a wonderful moment for students to connect to one another through the various pieces, and to share their connections to the world around them through the art pieces, and the pieces they created that were inspired by the collection.