Beau’s House Post Legacy

4 October 2026Ava B, Hope ‘27

Since the autumn of 2025, Brentwood has had the honour of working with Beau Wagner, a Coast Salish artist and educator. Beau has also been working with local Indigenous Elders, highlighting the deep connections between art, community, and the natural world. He has recently been completing two traditional House posts with Brentwood’s Contemporary Indigenous Studies courses. Hadia H, Hope ‘27, says, “Working on Salish art made me feel at peace.” The installation of these House posts last week was an enormous step toward reconciliation, not only for Brentwood, but also for the Malahat Nations. During his speech, Beau commented that there used to be poles like this all along the coast of Vancouver Island, and that placing them where they used to be, as well as on the site of a former Coast Salish village, was truly a milestone.

This collaboration between Brentwood and Mr Wagner has helped our students appreciate the cultural significance of the Western Red Cedar and the stories embedded in his work. This collaboration didn’t stop with Brentwood’s Contemporary Indigenous Studies classes; it extended to include our Pottery studio. Beau worked with our students to make the mugs that will be gifted to members of the Malahat Nation, and to create traditional Salish designs in underglaze while sharing the history and his story behind the new House posts. “It was a wonderful opportunity for Brentwood to pause and reflect on our history and to learn from Beau,” says Mr Lyons, Brentwood’s 3D pottery teacher.

The House posts carved from Western Red Cedar now look out over the Brentwood waterfront from the foundations of the Centre for Innovation and Learning. They are carved with salmon swimming up from the base, changing in tone from a dark brown wood stain to a gold cast at the top. Beau, when describing the salmon, said, “Those salmon crawled out of those rivers and streams and became the human people of the land.” The poles mirror each other, both with a head carving of an elder at the top. On the other side of the head, looking into the CIL, are two other faces: one of the sun and the other of the moon.

Brentwood is forever grateful for Beau’s teaching inside and outside the classroom. As he said in his address, “You matter, You are loved. You know kindness. You know belonging.”

Ava B, Hope ‘27

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