Faces of Vancouver: So-Sah-Latch Health Centre, Mission reserve

The Squamish Nation’s Mission reserve is located just west of Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver. Originally called the village of Slah’ahn, it has ancient Coast Salish roots that go back thousands of years. It is one of three Coast Salish communities on Vancouver Harbour.

The So-Sah-Latch Health Centre features graphics by Squamish artist Xwalacktun (Rick Harry). The health centre is a modern, two-storey building. Access is through a traditional-looking faí§ade that projects out two metres from the rest of the building. The Coast Salish usually built very large, shed-style buildings with single-pitched roofs. However, double-pitched, gable-style roofs, similar to the above, were also occasionally used.

Coast Salish buildings were often elaborately decorated on the inside, but plain on the outside. Compared with other Pacific coast cultures such as the Haida, Coast Salish art was more private and less concerned about public display. Some Coast Salish graphics were connected to special rituals and only on display for initiates.

The building’s graphics depict a Say nuth kway yum, known in other West Coast cultures as a Sisiutl or two-headed sea-serpent. Xwalacktun has demonstrated that traditional Squamish art forms can be applied to the outside of modern buildings in a bold and striking way. The faí§ade was painted in 1995 and over the last few years has suffered significant weathering. Xwalacktun has been commissioned to produce many traditional carvings including elaborate Squamish entry posts and totem poles for public buildings in Greater Vancouver and even as far as Scotland.

In the background is St. Paul’s Church. Built in 1884, it replaced an earlier building which was the first church built on Vancouver Harbour. It is known for its fine Coast Salish wood carvings, which can be seen when the building is open for mass.

Many of the families living on the Mission reserve were originally from other villages in the Vancouver area, including four villages in what is now known as Stanley Park.

Douglas Aitken is the author of the book Three Faces of Vancouver. Every Monday, Faces of Vancouver looks at the area’s buildings, past and present, with a focus on Vancouver’s European, Asian, and First Nations cultures.