Province gives Order of B.C. to Coast Salish master carver

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Simon Charlie of Duncan was one of 16 people who received the Order of British Columbia from Lieutenant Governor Garde Gardom and Premier Gordon Campbell on June 21.

"The women and men who have come to Government House to receive British Columbia's highest honor are some of the best and brightest people our province has to offer," Campbell said. "The Order of British Columbia is a tribute to their achievements and dedication to excellence and I thank them for their contribution to our province."

Charlie is a master carver, artist, community leader, cultural specialist and an Aboriginal Elder of the Cowichan Coast Salish First Nation. Over his lifetime he has done all he can to pass along his heritage, culture and traditions to his people, and to non-Aboriginal people as well.

For more than 30 years, he has carved traditional Coast Salish art. He estimates that since 1966, he has carved the equivalent of 22 logging-truckloads of cedar logs. His totem poles stand in the Royal British Columbia Museum, at the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, in Washington State, Georgia, New York, and at McDonald's corporate headquarters in Chicago.

Four of his 20-foot poles are in Australia. His masks and other artworks grace collections in South America, the United Kingdom, Finland, Holland, Germany and Japan. In 1997, as part of an Elders' delegation, he carved a totem pole with Maori carvers in New Zealand.

Charlie has always had a keen interest in creating opportunities for the mutual understanding of diverse cultures. His vision is to create a living cultural presence, through a pre-European Aboriginal landscape and village, open to the public, where traditional skills are taught, and the Coast Salish heritage and way of life is revitalized. He has donated land for this purpose. Under his direction, a charitable society was formed in his name to fulfill his dream of enriching the lives of the Elders of tomorrow.

Among the other OBC recipients for 2001 were Robert Bateman of Saltspring Island, artist and naturalist; Sarah McLachlan of Vancouver, singer and songwriter; and Sarah-Spring Stump of Williams Lake, supporter of the poor and homeless.

This year's recipients were chosen by an independent advisory council chaired by former chief justice Allan McEachern. Since the Order of British Columbia was introduced in 1989, 179 people have received the honor. Information about these people is available at www.protocol.gov.bc.ca.