By Abby Francis, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews In late 2022, Drew Blaney was at the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) viewing some paddles and masks from his nation that were being held in the institution’s basement. While he was walking around, the culture and heritage manager for Tla’amin Nation stumbled across two striking carved wooden figures — one depicting a man and the other depicting a woman holding her arms out, as if she was carrying a child. They looked familiar, so he immediately sent a text to his brother, Tiy’ap thote (Erik Blaney), who had been searching for two mortuary poles belonging to their community for nearly three decades. Blaney asked Tiy’ap thote — who was at a hockey game at the time — if he could send photos…
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