The Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at UBC opens the world premiere of Nuxalk Strong: Dancing Down the Eyelashes of the Sun, with a free event on Thursday, February 20th from 6-9pm, with the exhibition on display at MOA from February 21, 2025–January 5, 2026.
Co-curated by Dr. Snxakila—Clyde Tallio, Director of Culture and Language, Nuxalk Nation, and Dr. Jennifer Kramer, Curator, Pacific Northwest at MOA, this first-of-its-kind exhibition showcases the rich culture and worldview of the Nuxalk Nation, located in Bella Coola, B.C. Featuring treasures and artworks housed at MOA, and loans from six participating museums and private collections, Nuxalk Strong will highlight the strength and healing of the Nuxalk Nation following colonization, and how the community is now working with museums to support its efforts to safeguard belongings, treasures and ceremonies for future generations.
“Nuxalk Strong demonstrates the foresight of our Elders who strategically placed our treasures in museums for safekeeping at a time when our culture and language were being oppressed and we were forced to confine to colonial ways. In Nuxalk, this is known as putl’altnick – thinking and planning for those not yet born,” says Dr. Snxakila Clyde Tallio, co-curator of the exhibition. “Today, as our community works to rebuild our sovereignty, sustainable relations, and cultural traditions, we are also working towards reclaiming the masks, regalia, weavings, and carvings for the living generations to restore the knowledge and reveal the values found within these treasures.”
Adds Dr. Jennifer Kramer: “Nuxalk Strong offers an opportunity for Vancouver audiences to examine the role that institutions have historically played in removing and retaining Indigenous belongings far from their ancestral homes. This exhibition demonstrates how museums can participate in nuyayanlh – generous reciprocity by aiding and supporting the Nuxalk as they reclaim their sovereignty through reconnecting to their treasures.”
Photo: Jennifer Kramer, courtesy of the Museum of Anthropology at UBC
Nuxalk Strong features 71 treasures, many on loan from the Royal British Columbia Museum (Victoria), Burke Museum (Seattle), Glenbow Museum (Calgary), Manitoba Museum (Winnipeg), Museum of Vancouver, private collections, and from Nuxalk families. As part of the exhibition’s commitment to repatriation, there will be a significant collection of Nuxalk masks, regalia, and cedar bark weavings returned to the community at the close of the exhibition in 2026. Originally gifted to ethnographer TF McIlwraith when he worked with the Nuxalk in the early 1920s, his descendants will return these physical treasures – as well as Nuxalk names that were ceremonially given to their father/grandfather – to the community, showcasing an important display of reconciliation in action.
Nuxalk Strong: Dancing Down the Eyelashes of the Sun, is on display at MOA from February 21, 2025–January 5, 2026 with a free opening event taking place on Thursday, February 20th from 6-9pm.
Visit moa.ubc.ca to learn more about the exhibition, tickets and details about visiting The Museum of Anthropology at UBC,6393 NW Marine Drive