Cowichan to offer Northwest Coast First Nations carving

Spanish, religion, criminology and Northwest Coast First Nations Carving courses will spice up an already extensive selection of university-level courses being offered at Malaspina University-College’s Cowichan campus in spring 2007.

The Cowichan campus offers more than 30 university-level courses each semester.

This January there are four new classes up for grabs, including Religions 111: World Religions, Criminology 103: Individual Explanations for Crime and Deviance, Spanish 100: Beginning Spanish 1 and First Nations Studies 380: Intro to Northwest Coast First Nations Carving.

Jane Marston, an accomplished Chemainus First Nation artist and carver, is teaching the Intro to Northwest Coast First Nations Carving. Marston learned much of her carving skills from the late Cowichan Coast Salish elder and Master carver Simon Charlie.

“I thought it would be great to give back to our community and our people the things I’ve learned,” said Marston, who loves teaching and is excited about this new course. “This class won’t be as rigid as a lecture. It’s more about community teaching with people learning at their own pace. It’s really fun – you laugh a lot. It’s fun to teach that way.”

The course will be a mixture of theory, interactive class discussion and hands-on carving.

“Coast Salish art isn’t as well known as Haida and Kwagiulth carving,” said Marston. “We’re not all totem pole people. Northwest Coast First Nations’ art was often found in more utilitarian objects.”

Course offerings are ever-expanding to meet the needs of Cowichan Valley students and their requests for specific courses, said Maria Lauridsen, Malaspina’s Cowichan campus interim principal.

“As we move forward with the relocation to a new campus in 2010 we want to be able to provide students living in the Cowichan Valley with a broad mix of courses to satisfy first and second year university student timetables so they can study close to home,” she said.

Registration for spring 2007 courses is being taken now. For information go to www.viu.ca/cowichan or call registration at 746-3512 or 746-3513.