An historical mural painted on the back wall of the Indian Friendship Centre on Railway Avenue in Mission, British Columbia. The work was painted by Doug Cariou, with the two totem poles designed and painted by Steve Stanczyk -- who also painted the men in the boats and Jesus on the cross. Assisted by Lori Cariou and Nathan Woodrow.
What the Mural Depicts
The mural portrays the annual reenactment of the Stations of the Cross carried out by different native groups over approximately 30 consecutive years beginning in the late 1800s. Native peoples from across the Pacific Northwest -- including Vancouver Island, central British Columbia, and as far south as Oregon -- travelled up the Fraser River in their boats for this gathering.
The man standing to the left of the cross is a First Nations chief, translating the story of the cross into his people's native tongue as it is acted out, orchestrated by the Oblate Fathers. The tribal name of the host people is Sto:lo -- meaning People of the River.
From the cross of Jesus at the centre, Christ's atoning blood runs down, touching the serpent -- which represents the enemy of the People of the River -- defeating it and bringing the victory of salvation. This is displayed in the imagery of the native stylized eagle.
In the river beneath the scene, a creature -- possibly a Cadborosaurus -- is said to sometimes inhabit the waters of the Fraser. The subdued figures in the sky carry deep significance: on the right, a Sto:lo elder watches over his people; on the left, an Oblate Father stands in vigil.
The Sto:lo Prophecy
It is said that well over 100 years before any white man came to the land of the Salish peoples, a Sto:lo prophet -- while hunting on a nearby mountain -- met three strangers who said to him: "Kneel down and draw two intersecting lines on your chest eight times, and shut your eyes." The prophet did this, and when he opened his eyes, he saw a tall structure with a kind of tent on one side of it, with a clanging thing inside, and the most brilliant light he had ever seen shone out of it. The strangers told him that in the future, men in black clothes would come to teach his people what was good and what was bad -- but not all of these men would be good. "Listen to their message," they said.
When the first Catholic missionaries arrived in this area in 1841 with the message of the cross, many believed this to be the fulfilment of the prophet's vision.