Skyla Lattie

Skyla Lattie : Diisgalaaxw : GitxsanBushGirl is a Gitxsan woman with European ancestry born & raised in Hazelton BC currently living in Hazelton. Skyla is a homeschooling mama to two girls, a Sim Algyax language learner & sharer, a medicine maker, a sustainable harvesting teacher & a self-employed artist. She creates multi-media art whenever she can inspired by hanii jok': the world. Skyla hopes you enjoy this piece as much as she enjoyed creating it. This piece symbolizes the circle of life & death. Salmon are a keystone species for our area & are an integral part of our culture as Gitxsan people. After the thaw of winter from their flesh & bones grow majagalee: flowers. We also use this word to describe our children, our future generation. This salmon skeleton is also like a vessel, a basket full of resources. As Gitxsan people, we honour our greatest law: Gwalx’yee’instxw. We are given a full basket and we must pass one on to our future generations. Wild roses, fiddlehead ferns, lupins, dandelions, forget-me-nots, and arnica are all wild plants of our area, either used for medicine (body, mind, spirit) and/ or food. The moon is tufted from moose and deer hair, using both kinds of hair gives the moon texture.