In this ink study, a poignant fragment of Yuxweluptun's large canvas now in the Art Gallery of Vancouver, [1] we witness a visual critique of the negotiations surrounding the Nisga'a Final Agreement. At the far left, we see the left hand and partial face of a First Nations figure, who points toward the despoiled landscape, symbolizing centuries of lost wealth through resource extraction. A central sxwayxwey-type mask sputters water onto the ravaged ground, futile in its attempt to heal or nourish.

The title, Last Stand evokes the desperate fight of the Nisga'a Nation to preserve their sovereignty, while Chump Change underscores the inadequacy of the treaty’s compensation, dismissing the true value of their land and rights.

References: The work is sometimes referred to as “The Impending Nisga'a Deal, Last Stand, Chump Change.” The canvas for this work, 1996, 183 x 213 cm, acrylic on canvas, Vancouver Art Gallery Acquisition Fund, Vancouver, BC., was reproduced in Barbara Brotherton, ed., S'abadeb = The Gifts: Pacific Coast Salish Art and Artists, (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2008), fig. 5.40, p. 127 and on the back cover of Bruce Grenville and Scott Steedman, eds., Visions of British Columbia: A Landscape Manual, (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 2010).