When you enter the pool at Sen̓áḵw, the first thing you will notice is the artwork beneath the water. Created by Marissa Nahanee, it's a design meant to ground you in place—to remind you that even here, surrounded by glass and concrete, you are still connected to the land and waters of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh.

Míkw'achi7m, Marissa Nahanee

Marissa Nahanee, whose ancestral name is Míkw'achi7m, is the artist behind the design. She is Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and Nisga’a, and grew up in a home filled with songs, stories, and art. “Cedar bark weaving was my first love,” she says. “It made me feel grounded and connected.” The discipline of weaving, with its rhythm, geometry, and attention to structure, informs the design she created for the pool.

The artwork centres on the species that live in the waters around Sen̓áḵw. Marissa focused on oolichan, herring, and the many little fish that sustain the inlet. “Sokwe refers to all the little fish,” she explains. “I wanted to honour them and show how important they are to our waters.” Because the artwork will be viewed through water, she considered how the forms would feel when seen from above. “I was thinking about the bottom of a river or the ocean and how beautiful that texture is,” she says. “I wanted to mimic that feeling.”

When you swim here, the artwork anchors the pool beneath you. The design invites you to slow down and notice the life that surrounds this place. Marissa hopes it encourages curiosity. “I hope people feel calm and inspired,” she says. “Maybe someone will want to learn about the oolichan and help protect them.”

The piece reflects something essential about Sen̓áḵw. The village is being shaped by the land and by those who hold knowledge of it. Even in the pool, you remain in relationship with the shoreline. Living here means forming that connection over time, through attention, care, and the understanding that this place has its own life, and you are part of it.

Images courtesy of Marissa Nahanee