Self-taught local artisan resurrects Secwépemc weapon-making traditions

KAMLOOPS — For centuries before colonial settlers came to this area, Secwépemc people used a wide variety of handmade tools to gather the resources necessary to survive.

When settlers from Europe came to these lands with steel tools and modern weapons, the traditions of these hand-made tools faded away.

However, there’s one local artist who has taught himself to create these tools, using traditional methods and materials.

“This is local basalt – glassy basalt,” Ed Jensen, Secwépemc Weapons Specialist explains. “This is the most common material you’ll find in the archaeological record in this area.”

Ed Jensen has been making weapons his whole life.

“Growing up, I didn’t have a lot in the way of toys and such. My Mom, all the resources she gathered went into paying bills – electrical, putting food on the table and clothes on our backs. So any kind of extras, like toys, had to be constructed. So I was a bow and arrow guy, right? I made a lot of bows and arrows growing up, and I just kind of got good at it.”

Jensen is self-taught. He first started flint knapping as a kid – without really knowing what he was doing.

“It wasn’t until Grade Four or Five, our class went to the museum. We were walking through the museum, looking at all the settler artifacts. We come around one corner and there were First Nations artifacts in a big display case. It blew my mind.”

From those humble roots, Jensen has built his business, Tk’emlups Traditions. He creates a wide variety of beautiful hand-crafted tools. However, Jensen doesn’t want his work hanging on a wall.

“I have fellas out on the land who are skinning deer with these knives, and out there hunting with my bows. I couldn’t imagine building it and then they couldn’t shoot it. It doesn’t make sense. Mind you, it happens. They want something to hang on the wall, I guess. [That’s] not for me. I want a knife that I can take out onto the land and skin a moose with.”

From opal to obsidian, flint, even petrified wood, Jensen makes blades from many different types of stone. His shop is full of materials he’s collected, harvested, or has been given over the years.

“I’ve got a little bit of antler. Antler and bone are pretty big. I get a lot of that stuff gifted to me.”

Along with creating art, Ed also teaches. He holds workshops for First Nations and settlers on making traditional weaponry. Leading into 2020, that was the fastest-growing segment of his business.

“The pandemic hit, of course, and I had to turn it all back around and shift it all back around. That’s where this new studio addition came in.”

On Saturday, Jensen is opening a Tk’emlups Traditions studio he built onto his shop. There, he’ll be able to showcase the items he creates, to a broader audience.

“I feel really fortunate to be able to acquire a loan from Community Futures to build this little addition and expand my shop a little bit. It gives me that space I need and the good vibes to create some really neat work.”