Debra Sparrow
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Debra Sparrow, or (Thelliawhatlwit), is a Musqueam weaver, artist and knowledge keeper. She is self-taught in Salish design, weaving, and jewellery making.


Biography

Sparrow was born and raised on the Musqueam Indian Reserve, part of the traditional territories of the Musqueam people, in
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
,
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. Sparrow credits her grandfather, Ed Sparrow, who lived to be 100 years old and remembered the forcible removal of the Musqueam people from
Stanley Park Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada, that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Vancouver, Downtown peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay, Vancouver, English Bay. The park bor ...
, with giving her "300 years of stories" that grounded her in her heritage and enabled her to hear the voices of her ancestors. "We never stopped dancing, we never stopped singing, we never stopped practising our cultural ways," says Sparrow, who considers herself a person who lives and practises traditional ways. Sparrow is the mother of three grown children.


Musqueam weavers

By the time of Sparrow's childhood the techniques of Salish weaving were lost to the Musqueam nation. There were no living weavers to teach a new generation; the last known weaver before the revival was Sparrow's great-grandmother. In 1985, Wendy John, Sparrow's eldest sister attended a Salish weaving course at the Vancouver Indian Centre (now th
Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre
. The next year, Sparrow and her younger sister Robyn Sparrow began to study weaving as well. Along with her sister Robyn, Sparrow co-founded a group of women weavers in the 1980s who rejuvenated the Salish Weaving tradition. They were able to reconstruct the lost weaving techniques utilizing an anthropological book by Paula Gustafson and by examining blankets handed down in their family and in museums in BC, Washington and New York. Says Sparrow of the weaving process: "And when I stand – in front of my loom and I'm working and creating, I'm with them, I'm not here anymore. I'm back in time and I'm thinking of the women and they're whispering to me and guiding me". Although the weavers are not able to access the dog hair originally utilized by Salish weavers, due to the extinction of the animals, sheep's wool, often hand spun, has made the transition into the weaving technique. The weaving is time intensive: "Robes take longer to weave than totem poles take to carve".


Educating others

Sparrow is active in the education community at various levels. She has designed programs and taught elementary aged children about Musqueam culture and history, through the
UBC Museum of Anthropology The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) campus in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada displays world arts and cultures, in particular works by First Nations of the Pacific Northwest. As well as being a major tourist ...
. She teaches Salish weaving techniques to children, teenagers and adults: taught at Birkland Brothers Wool Shop, through the Urban Weavers project, through MOA and the Vancouver School Board. Sparrow gives demonstrations and public talks at venues such as the Greater Vancouver Weavers and Spinners Guild and the
Bill Reid William Ronald Reid Jr. (12 January 1920 – 13 March 1998) also known as Iljuwas, was a Haida artist whose works include jewelry, sculpture, screen-printing, and paintings. Producing over one thousand original works during his fifty-year car ...
Gallery. She also participates in presentations and publications with national and international symposia and conferences in regards to indigenous modern and traditional art, such as
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
and the European Textile Network. Sparrow has been an instructor at
Langara College Langara College (snəw̓eyəɬ leləm̓ in ''Halkomelem'') is a public degree-granting college in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada which serves more than 19,000 students annually. Langara College started in 1965 as part of Vancouver Community ...
during their Fall and Winter 2018/19 semesters teaching a Reconciliation Weaving course as a continuation of the college's previous Reconciliation Carving series instructed by Squamish artist Aaron Nelson-Moody. She has collaborated as a lead artist and a mentor for th
Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society
s Weaving Our Way, a collaborative intercultural weaving project, funded by the 2017 City of Vancouver Cultural Arts Grants. The collaborative blanket has been showcased at the various sites, includin
Richmond Art Gallery
UBC, and the Roundhouse Community Centre. The collaborative blanket is now a public collection of the City of Vancouver and permanently displayed at the Dunbar Community Centre.


Major works

Sparrow's work is sought by private and public collections including the
University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...
,
Heard Museum The Heard Museum is a private, not-for-profit museum in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, dedicated to the advancement of American Indian art. It presents the stories of American Indian people from a first-person perspective, as well as exhibitio ...
in Phoenix, Arizona; the
Canadian Museum of Civilization The Canadian Museum of History () is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of Canada, as well as support related res ...
in Hull, Quebec; the Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria;
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in Los Angeles; and the
Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture (commonly as Burke Museum) is a natural history museum on the campus of the University of Washington, in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is administered by the UW College of Arts and Scien ...
in Seattle, WA. In 1996, Sparrow and her sister Robyn wove two blankets of four in the "Out of the Silence" installation at the
Vancouver International Airport Vancouver International Airport is an international airport located on Sea Island (British Columbia), Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia, Richmond, British Columbia, serving the city of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland region. It is lo ...
. The four weavings are made from hand-dyed, hand spun sheep's wool and measure 4.9 x 1.5 meters each. The other artists are Krista Point, Gina Grant and Helen Calbreath."Musqueam Welcome Area." ''YVR''. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2016. http://www.yvr.ca/en/about-yvr/art/musqueam-welcome-area The weavings are part of th
Musqueam Welcome Area
of the International Arrivals area, the official welcoming area to Canada, British Columbia and Vancouver for all international flights, along with carvings by
Susan Point Susan Point (born 1952) is a Musqueam Indian Band, Musqueam Coast Salish peoples, Coast Salish artist from Canada, who works in the Coast Salish art, Coast Salish tradition. Her sculpture, prints and public art works include pieces installed at ...
of ''Welcoming Figures'' and ''Flight (Spinning Whorl)''. One of the blankets woven by Debra and Robyn is titled ''Sulsila'', which translates as "The Grandparents," and was reproduced by the Kanata Blanket Company. Other designs of Sparrow's are reproduced by the Kanata Blanket Company in their Licensed Artist Designs line. In 2009, Sparrow was commissioned to create a ceremonial blanket and shawl for the First Nations gallery at
Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and British Overseas Territories. The name is also used in some other countries. Government Houses in th ...
in Victoria, BC. Sparrow designed the logo for the Canadian Hockey Teams for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver, BC. The maple leaf shaped logo features a collage of Salish and Canadian symbols drawn by Sparrow including thunderbird, eagle, beaver, moose, hockey sticks, fleur de lis, Orcas, hockey players and maple leaves. Sparrow worked in conjunction with Stuart Iwasaki, graphic designer for
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. For the 2010 Olympic Games, Debra and Robyn Sparrow created two weavings, ''Thunderbirds: Keepers of the Sky,'' which hang in UBC Thunderbird Arena. These are permanent pieces that remain in the venue as a legacy of the Games. Sparrow was part of the design team that created the Queen of the Night costume in
Vancouver Opera Vancouver Opera is the second largest performing arts organization in British Columbia and the largest opera company in western Canada. Its mainstage performances occur in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, other venues in Vancouver and occasionally el ...
's Coastal Salish inspired production of
The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...
in 2013. She was also commissioned by
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
to create regalia for the movie '' White Fang II''. In 2015, Sparrow, in conjunction with Vancouver-based company Peau de Loup, designed the ''Unity Scarf'' for the
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the f ...
. The ''Unity Scarf'' was a double-sided printed with a Salish design on one side and the word Canada on the other. Sparrow said ""I am honoured to share these intricate designs with Peau de Loup for the National Women's team so that the world has an opportunity to see the relationship between all the people in Canada… I hold my hands up to all Women Athletes who have come to compete at the world level… Welcome!" of the work and the accomplishments of women athletes. In 2018, Sparrow undertook several mural projects across the city of Vancouver. In collaboration with the Vancouver Mural Festival, Sparrow will be designing a three part mural series titled ''"Blanketing the City"'' incorporating contemporary Coast Salish design elements, focusing on geometric blanket weaving patterns. The first Mural in the series was unveiled as the centrepiece of the VMF Art Smash event on
Granville Island Granville Island is a peninsula and shopping district in the Fairview neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, across False Creek from Downtown Vancouver, under the south end of the Granville Street Bridge. Formerly an industrial ...
. The mural is a wrap around design over two cement pillars underneath the
Granville Street Bridge The Granville Street Bridge or Granville Bridge is an eight-lane fixed cantilever/truss bridge in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, carrying Granville Street between Downtown Vancouver southwest and the Fairview neighborhood. It spans Fal ...
. '''"Blanketing the City Pt. II"'' is located in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood and the third mural is in collaboration with
Capilano University Capilano University (CapU) is a teaching-focused public university based in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, located on the slopes of the North Shore Mountains, with programming that also serves the Sea-to-Sky Corridor and the Sunshi ...
and Sto:lo artist Carrielynn Victor as a part of the schools 50th anniversary celebrations. As a part of the 2018 SKOOKUM music festival, Sparrow contributed a pop up mural installation as a part of the festivals "SKOOKUM After Dark" events.


Publications by Debra Sparrow

* * ''Weaving Worlds Together'' by Debra Sparrow and Jill Baird, presented at the Symposium on "Indigenous Identities: Oral, Written Expressions and New Technologies." UNESCO, 2001. * "Know who you are, Know where you come from" in ''A Hurricane in the Basement.'' City of Vancouver, 2000. * * * "Out of the Silence" in ''European Textile Network December 1994,'' pp 43–45. * 1995–1997 Debra Sparrow Weaving Two Worlds Together ''School Programme at the UBC Museum of Anthropology'' Vancouver


Awards

BC Creative Achievement Award for First Nations' Art, 2008 "Native Artists to Receive Provincial Award." ''The Globe and Mail''. N.p., 14 May 2008. Web. 18 Mar. 2016. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/native-artists-to-receive-provincial-award/article672365/


References


External links

*
Musqueam website

UBC Museum of Anthropology website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sparrow, Debra Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Canadian artists 21st-century Canadian artists 20th-century First Nations people 21st-century First Nations artists Artists from British Columbia Coast Salish artists First Nations textile artists Langara College people Northwest Coast art Women textile artists 20th-century Canadian women artists 21st-century Canadian women artists First Nations women artists Musqueam people