Marine Gateway shopping mall surrounds the Marine Drive transit station. From SW Marine Drive, climb the seven steps before the sign to the cineplex at Marine Gateway. Four large concrete baskets greet you on your right.
There is a bench immediately west of each basket. East of the baskets, on the other side of the pedestrian space, there is running water and text describing the Fraser River Delta.
The following text is taken from the sign on site.
For thousands of years, the Musqueam (People of the Grass) have fished for salmon in the mighty Fraser River and lived on its grassy shores.
These four concrete baskets with bronze spindle whorl lids, resting on symbolic traditional reed mats, were created by Musqueam artist Susan Point using traditional symbols to celebrate her people's culture and the importance of salmon and the Fraser River to the Musqueam.
Salmon are born in the river, migrate to the ocean and then return - if they survive. Eagles, bears and fishing communities on the Fraser rely on the salmon for food. Only one in a hundred salmon return to the river tributaries to spawn.
The riverfront near Marine Gateway is still a Musqueam site for harvesting salmon, despite the many challenges of urbanization. Modern methods are used today, but in the past salmon were caught by weir fishing. Susan Point is a descendant of the families who set large poles with woven baskets tied between them in the river to trap the salmon. Stones were also used extensively, as fish traps and to weight the nets. Seal, porpoise and sturgeon were caught using harpoons, and shellfish were gathered by hand.
On shore, the Musqueam hunted deer, elk, bear, and birds with bow and arrow, nets and snares. Wapato (a native potato) was harvested, along with edible roots and berries.
Families camped on the banks of the Fraser to watch over the salmon catch that would feed them through the winter. It was a busy time; sewing clothing and repairing nets and fishing baskets. Singing and dancing, storytelling and games were part of the river harvest, as was the artistic carving of wood, bones and especially stones into sacred and household objects; from mauls and grinding bowls to cooking vessels, weapons and tools. The Musqueam people's wood and stone spindle whorls (a disc which acted as a flywheel while spinning yarn) inspired the bronze lids of Susan Point's baskets.
The Fraser was vital for travel and trade with neighbouring tribes. Decorative and ceremonial items (dentalia shells, mother-of-pearl, copper, iron and jade) were exchanged for food and textiles. Native materials from the southern USA have been found in the B.C. interior throughout the Fraser River basin, proving the vastness of this trade network.
With her contemporary interpretation of traditional imagery, artist Susan Point's baskets represent the legacy of the Musqueam and their long history on the Fraser River.