![\"Artist](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/42212910_web1_HopeSecondarySchool_MuralJoshConrad3.0410.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA new mural inside Shxwelis te Ts\u2019q\u00f3:ls (Spirit of Hope Secondary School) is bringing art and Indigenous learning to the high school in the form of a \u201cteaching wall.\u201d<\/p>\n
The colourful piece was designed and painted by Josh Conrad of Chow\u00e9thel (Chawathil First Nation).<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to showcase that Indigenous people are here now,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re modern people doing modern things and we continue to integrate our traditions and our culture and our stories in new inventive and modern ways. I wanted to represent that through this mural.\u201d<\/p>\n
His style features traditional artwork, Salish weaving patterns, geometric shapes and bright colours. Along with water, fire, mountains and trees, he included local animals found in the community like a wolf, beaver, turtle, bear, eagle and salmon.<\/p>\n
Standing tall in the centre of the mural is St\u00e1miya (Hope Mountain).<\/p>\n
\u201cThe largest representation is, of course, St\u00e1miya because it is something that is very important to us. It really keeps us in place of the land we\u2019re walking on right now,\u201d Conrad said.<\/p>\n
A yellow line runs through St\u00e1miya and leads to S\u00e1sq\u2019ets (Sasquatch), marking his pathway as he walks and finds his way through the mountain range.<\/p>\n
The geometric shapes represent the \u201cshared\u201d Salish weaving patterns, Conrad explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe share this, not just with Salish people, but with people all over the world. I feel like this is a talking point as to how we share culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
He broke down the different shapes and their meanings: diamonds represent love, eternity and cycles; zigzags represent movement, water and mountains; squares represent strength, stability, family and togetherness; triangles represent mountain ranges; and the checkered pattern represents a sense of community.<\/p>\n
The zigzag pattern sits at the base of the mountain, identifying the flowing Fraser River, Coquihalla River, and Suckers Creek where the two rivers meet.<\/p>\n
He said a lot of educational events and field trips happen at Suckers Creek.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like this was a really good way to integrate what we\u2019re learning now about the salmon and their life cycles and their importance to us, as well as the places here in Hope locally where we see those activities happening, and the salmon coming back home to spawn.\u201d<\/p>\n
Conrad grew up in Hope, went to Hope Secondary School, and currently lives in Chilliwack. He came back to his hometown to paint the mural and said he feels \u201creally connected\u201d to the cycle of the salmon coming home.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a pretty big, full-circle moment to be able to paint here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There are at least three stories woven into the piece: one about St\u00e1miya, another about transformation from man to bear, and a salmon\/fishing story.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to not just have a mural, we\u2019re trying to bring teachings in,\u201d said Wade Peary, principal of Shxwelis te Ts\u2019q\u00f3:ls.<\/p>\n
Caitlin Demmitt, Indigenous support worker at the school, said the mural is also a way to \u201cbridge the gap\u201d between the elders and the youth.<\/p>\n
She said she was happy Conrad included a cedar tree as it touches on the school\u2019s new name change. \u2018Ts\u2019q\u00f3:ls\u2019 references a bare or bald tree, as the wind comes up from the river, she explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were really glad that (the tree) was able to reference the name of our school, which we were able to come up with from the help of elders and community,\u201d Demmitt said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tree is a traditional landmark,\u201d added Kristie Peters, fellow Indigenous support worker. \u201cThat\u2019s how we identify where we\u2019re at\u2026 because, we didn\u2019t have roads and stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peters also pointed out another landmark right in the middle of the mountain: a traditional landmark rock, framed by a black square border. It is part of their transformation stories which they value, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re losing our stories. We want to make it modern for the students, so we don\u2019t lose it,\u201d Peters said.<\/p>\n
Conrad wore virtual reality goggles to paint the mural. He used an application in VR, specific to generating large-scale imagery.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo map it out, I actually was able to, in virtual reality, place the digital version of the mural onto the wall, lock it onto the wall and then be able to trace my drawing onto the wall.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said VR has been \u201cinstrumental\u201d in various mural pieces. It scans the wall and then the artist can make adjustments while they\u2019re in the application.<\/p>\n
Their big goal is to bring in elders, record their stories, and share them via augmented reality. People would be able to scan a QR code with a smartphone, turning the mural into a \u201cliving piece\u201d by way of adding digital elements like images, text and 3D models onto the wall itself, Peary said.<\/p>\n
It would allow kids and the community to learn what different parts of the mural mean, and how to pronounce the words in Halq\u2019em\u00e9ylem.<\/p>\n
Funding from the Indigenous Education Council at Fraser-Cascade School District made the project possible.<\/p>\n
Peary called Conrad\u2019s work \u201cphenomenal.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was one of few staff members who knew about the mural, as they kept it a surprise to both staff and students. Conrad painted it over eight days, with help from his wife Natalia Gudumac, during spring break.<\/p>\n
Demmitt said the reaction from everyone when they returned to school and saw the artwork was \u201camazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey recognize that we\u2019re doing it for multiple lessons and teachings, but also to bring a sense of welcome and belonging to our students and our community,\u201d Demmitt said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new mural inside Shxwelis te Ts\u2019q\u00f3:ls (Spirit of Hope Secondary School) is bringing art and Indigenous learning…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":641450,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194299],"tags":[49,48,87674],"class_list":["post-641449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-surrey","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-surrey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=641449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641449\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/641450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=641449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=641449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=641449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}