Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) trade students saw their hard work pay off for the world to see during the 2025 Invictus Games last week.
Students from the Squamish Nation Nexw7áýstwaý Training and Trades Centre (TTC) and a Kwantlen Polytechnic University carpentry instructor were given the task from the Invictus Games to create 50 ornate containers for the medals.
“We’ve done projects for our community, but nothing as big as this,” Milissa Lewis, Squamish Nation employment and future skills director, said in a KPU news release.
The bodies of the boxes are made from a single piece of West Coast cedar, with four pieces of Abalone shell surrounding the outer edge of the lid, highlighting the four host First Nations of the Invictus Games – the Lil̓wat7úl (Líl̓wat), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Squamish and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Each box took more than 30 hours to craft.
Lewis reached out to KPU carpentry instructor Terry Williams to start a special course for TTC just for the project.
“I was very honoured to be asked,” Terry said in an interview with North Shore News. “It was actually a lot of fun. The students were fantastic, they had tons of enthusiasm.”
The carpentry instructor taught 13 Squamish Nation students, who were all trained on shop equipment at TTC. After the class finished, the boxes weren’t complete, so Terry and TTC approached students to see if anyone wanted to finish the project, and four students came back to complete the boxes, he said.
Terry said the original design for the boxes was an Indigenous paddle, but those behind the games felt it was too large. This left him and students to put their creativity skills to the test, where they ended up creating a tray in an ovoid, a prominent shape in First Nations art, the news release said.
“It was a challenge, but it was really exciting because it’s not something that I get asked to do very often,” he said.
The Invictus Games is a global sporting event founded by Prince Harry in 2014 for wounded, injured and sick service members. Last week's games marked the second time the athletic competition was hosted in Canada, with the 2017 Invictus Games held in Toronto.
Since TTC launched in 2004, over 1,700 students have participated in the program that provides high quality training and trades programs to Indigenous Peoples.
For Billie-Reyez Grace Blaney, it was an honour to be part of the project as a Squamish Nation member and TTC student, but also for other reasons one might not expect.
Blaney was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in the summer during her time in TTC’s intro to carpentry course.
After a series of doctor appointments, ultrasounds and surgeries, Blaney was told she was cancer free in October. But with all this going on, working on the boxes in December came at a vital time in Blaney’s life.
“When you hear you have cancer, it’s the scariest thing you can possibly imagine,” Blaney said. “This came at a good time in my life because I was so focused on school and on making these boxes that it made cancer not such a traumatic experience. For me, making these boxes helped me not fall apart when I was dealing with cancer.”
Shain Jackson, owner of Spirit Works Limited, produced the engraving on the boxes.
Jackson is Coast Salish, from the shíshálh (Sechelt) First Nation. He adjusted the measurements to the required size for the medals, and shortly after the Invictus Games approved the new design.
“When we saw that the school was working with the Invictus Games, we thought it would be really neat to collaborate and to come up with something really interesting,” Jackson said in the news release.
TTC student Ralph Williams was also honoured to have been part of the project.
“Oh, it was nice. It was my first time for everything, and knowing now that is going to be seen [internationally], that’s awesome,” he said.
Ralph, who’s not related to Terry, has been making handmade carvings for the past decade. The death of his father was on his mind as he completed the project, he said, adding that he knows his dad would have been proud to see how much he’s accomplished.
“I know dad’s watching over me, every day he’s happy for what I’m carving,” he said.
The Invictus Games in Vancouver and Whistler have shown collaboration and involvement with local First Nations. Last Monday (Feb. 10), Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made an emotional visit to the Squamish Nation, correcting the wrongs of the past.
Success of the presentation boxes project boils down to First Nations' value of collaboration, Jackson said.
“It’s about unity within diversity. When we all come together, we usually end up with something pretty amazing,” Jackson said in the news release.
Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
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