Aaron Nelson-Moody is a Squamish artist working in carving, engraving jewelry, and repousse. His Squamish name, Tawx’sin Yexwulla, translates as ‘Splashing Eagle,’ and he also carries the name, Poolxtun, from his adopted father Gerry Oleman, which he translates as, ‘the spreading ripples from a splash of water.’
Highlights of Aaron’s work include several large works for Olympic Venue sites for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler, Canada, and four house boards for the Squamish/Lil’wat Cultural Centre.
For 10 years he volunteered with the Uts’am/Witness Project, an arts and environment project that succeeded in saving part of the Squamish Nation Territory from logging. The project brought together 10,000 First Nations and non-First Nations people to experience the land, engage in dialogue, make art, and participate in ceremonies. It is a historic model for peaceful conflict resolution, mobilization, policy change, and land preservation through art.
He has worked extensively with youth teaching Squamish and Native cultural history and hands-on skills such as carving and drum making. In 2002 he was the lead cultural worker in the Chako Project, a health promotion and prevention initiative that combined traditional and cultural teachings with education around substance use, HIV, Hepatitis and STD’s.
Links and Publications
People of the Land: Legends of the Four Host First Nations (Anthology celebrating the four First Nations whose ancestral territories were the setting for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, 2009)