Johnny Jones, Lil’wat Cultural Technician, explains this pictograph of Grizzly Twins and the Window in the Stars – a painting located on the hill-top going up to Xitolacw, the new site of Mt Currie’s IR #6.
It’s a picture of stars you can only see at night time. Our people would got fast in the hill and look up at the sky at the stars.
The stars are transformed Animals or people. The milky way is called: “Emptied out on the Trail” or “The Dust Trail.” One small fixed star is called “Middle of the Earth”. One small group of stars is called “Fishing” and the other “Bark Canoe”.
You can only see these particular constellations early in the morning to the east – you can see two windows. This is the bigger one. The Big Dipper is four warriors chasing a grizzly bear
Sometimes, these shapes are also put on medicine pipes.
The painting was made with red ochre, mixed with bear grease. The larger paintings are done by people of the Mythological age. The smaller ones were done by girls and boys during their puberty ceremonies, or were dream-records painted by men.
