Close up of Welcome figure

This was a piece I roughed out and carved with my moms team. She looks amazing and stands over 3.5 meters.

“ts’u-hey-us”

This contemporary female Salish welcome figure, “ts’u-hey-us” pays tribute to our tradition of welcoming visitors to our hereditary Salish homeland and reminds us to respect the first peoples of this land.

The physical gesture of this Salish lady is that used by the Salish as a symbol of respect, acknowledgment and welcome.  The phrase that is used for this gesture (mainly by women) is “ts’u-hey-us”

She is carved from windfall old growth western red cedar; hand raised and patinated elliptical copper domes become her eyes.