Spinning Culture Forward: Mountain Goat Pedagogies and Practices

Xémóntalot Carrielynn Victor is an accomplished artist and land-based researcher of mixed Stó:lö and Western European Heritage from the community XwChí:yóm (Cheam) in the Easter Fraser Valley.

Through years of research, material, and creative practice that incorporates traditional knowledge and land-based methodologies, Carrielynn has developed a deep respect and love for mountain goats and the gifts they share.

Her holistic practice engages with knowledge of the species through seasonal changes, harvesting, human and kinship relationships, traditional hide and wool processing, and culturally informed approaches of sustainability in all phases of their growth and life cycles.

For the first time Carrielynn is sharing her research and practice that draws from community knowledge and mentorship, archival research, and the development and fabrication of traditional tools used in wool processing. The cultural and spiritual fulcrum of this ongoing revitalization is the importance Carrielynn places on incorporating Halq'emeylem and Hul'quimi'nu language in all phases of the work.

Xémóntalot Carrielynn Victor's November 29, 2024 talk at the Bill Reid Gallery for Northwest Coast Art can be found here.