Creating animals in Coast Salish art has really helped me see the deeper meaning behind the designs. At first, I was mostly focused on how the shapes and designs looked, but now I understand that each animal has its own significance. For example, the eagle isn’t just an animal—it represents strength and wisdom in Coast Salish culture. It’s cool to realize that the artwork is more than just beautiful, it’s a way to tell stories in the community through the shapes within the animals, using circles to represents joints for example. Another lesson from this activity would be as someone partly Indigenous, it’s easy to take parts of the culture for granted, but this experience made me realize how much meaning there is behind every design, and to learn to notice the small details.