I never heard the thing about Skwxwu7mesh winning it It came about through the rise of the tourism industry We used to joke that Squamish translated to People of the Plaque Makers It s quite sad really and I find myself conflicted See within Kwakwaka wakw art you don t just do the art Your supposed to be trained in that field to understand what you do It s less of an art when you really get into it as in expression and artists creativity Like Oh the sun is inspiring to do a mask like this and maybe I ll throw this in there No It would not of been like that Certain elements or designs would be there for a reason it was a strict discipline A strict discipline pulled of respectfully was the art form But the spread of modern tools and the advent of Native Loving Tourists Northwest Coast art became the hot thing Thus so many southerns learned and started selling art work that didn t come from their people It s appropriate for sure But sadly accepted on a lot of levels untill a certain point sometimes though We may not change the mind of the older adults who already do art work and think it s Coast Salish but with the young people who we will teach what is our artwork That s why I undertake the learning of Coast Salish art I have the right to learn Kwakwaka wakw art and maybe one day I will