Earlier this year, NIȽ TU,O Child and Family Services Society (NIȽ TU,O) organized a Youth Art Contest, offering prizes and rewards for the winning contestants. The challenge—submitting a drawing of nature or the seasons—was open to youths between the ages of 3 and 19 who are affiliated with the Beecher Bay, Pauquachin, Tsartlip, Songhees, Tsawout, Tseycum, and T’Sou-ke Communities.

Contestants entered for the chance to win a $25 Walmart gift card and to have the submitted art included in NIȽ TU,O’s 2024 Calendar. The first 20 artists who entered also received art supplies and a copy of the Calendar.

Over a dozen young artists were chosen for inclusion in the Calendar layout, and each entry includes the artist’s name and some fun biographical facts. The winners include:

• Chloie, an 11-year-old from Tsartlip, who drew a beautiful piece contrasting the butterflies and flowers of spring with the snowy chill of winter.
• Bailey, an 8-year-old from Tsartlip, who drew a pink, heart-and-star-filled masterpiece.
• Jeannie, a 19-year-old from SC’IANEW, who submitted an elegant line drawing.
• Klena, an 8-year-old from Tsawout, who drew a stunning rainbow.
• Keira, an 11-year-old from Tsartlip, who made a powerful statement by drawing a red dress in remembrance of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.
• Kendra, a 10-year-old from Tsawout, who submitted a landscape drawing of a campsite and a lake.
• Ivan, a 6-year-old from Tsartlip, who stunned with a line drawing of his family, supplemented with bold splashes of gold and green marker.
• Diamond, a 13-year-old from Tsartlip, who drew a life-like jellyfish in honor of the ocean-side place where her parents were married.
• Olivia and Riley, 14 and 13-year-old artists from Tsartlip who made statements by drawing images of Orange Shirt Day.
• Savannah, a 16-year-old from Tsawout, who created a delightfully colorful piece featuring animal relatives, gardens, and so much more in a high-impact composition.
• Kayleigh, a 13-year-old from Tsawout, who stood out with her still life of the forest, complete with falling orange leaves and a bright blue sky.
• Tala, a 14-year-old from Tsawout who drew a boat making its way across the water.

NIȽ TU,O is grateful for this opportunity to support its mission of strengthening Coast Salish families and communities by encouraging young community members to carry on the Coast Salish tradition of artistry. NIȽ TU,O is thoroughly impressed by the way the youths told stories through art and anticipates the Calendar will inspire both delight and reflection among community members.