Spirit of Place

Restorative Energy of

Echo Valley

The indigenous ancestors recognized that this Valley, at the convergence of four distinct geographic locations was special, and were drawn here by the life-giving springs. They were intimately connected to Mother Earth, able to feel the energy within the land, a sense many of us city dwellers have lost. But here in Echo Valley that connection is still strong and felt by all who visit this spiritual retreat in BC – an overall sense of wellness, peace and bliss – awakening wonder.

We respectfully acknowledge that the images of the Fraser Canyon depict the exclusive territory of the High Bar First Nation (HBFN).

Center of the Energy

Room 12

At the centre of the energy felt in Echo Valley lies Room 12 of our Lookout Lodge. Here the spirit is made visible through art created by our resident artist Michael Blackstock.

Room 12 is remarkable in more than one way, Michael’s art is only one aspect of it. The walls themselves carry the likeness of twelve indigenous people’s faces, which reveal themselves to us within the coating applied to the walls, by chance, randomly. Michael believes this is more than a coincidence, as Room 12 is also an Axis Mundi, a portal between worlds.

Fifteen years before the aboriginal faces were noticed within the random shapes, another Indigenous artist, Theo Mahood, created large wooden murals for the exterior North and West-facing walls. The north-facing wall – where the mural depicts the creation of Mother Earth – shows a Shaman cradling Room 12; on the west-facing wall, a bird – part of an art piece that Theo called the “Circle of Life” – flies over Room 12. Many of us in Echo Valley accept that what has come together at this spiritual retreat in the heart of BC cannot be attributed to coincidence, instead we see it as tangible evidence of other forces present.

An Interpretation of this

Special Place

Michael is a renowned artist who developed the peer-reviewed theory of Blue Ecology, an indigenous water-first approach to the environment. Michael has crafted the intangible feeling into something tangible, by creating several carved masks depicting the faces of Indigenous ancestors whose energy he felt in Room 12.

One of Michael’s latest works of art is his interpretation of this special place.

An interpretation of this special place - Artwork by Michael Blackstock

The centre circle represents Room 12 in our Lookout Lodge, the centre of the energy felt at this spiritual BC retreat.

The second circle represents the artwork of two other indigenous artists, consisting of wood carved murals on the North and West facing walls of the Lookout Lodge, the Shaman and the Circle of Life. They cradle Room 12 as if to protect it.

The third circle depicts the four geographic regions that converge upon Echo Valley Ranch. The borders of the three circles symbolize the active aquifer that flows beneath our land. Indigenous people believe that water is alive and is spiritual. Amazingly enough, there are five springs on the ranch alone!

”Water is a living entity. It is the sacred centre from which all other activities radiate.
Michael Blackstock

Michael Blackstock
Resident Artist

About the Artist

Michael began exploring his First Nations heritage through visual art in 1986. He is a Northwest coast Gitxsan artist and has studied under the Gitxsan Master Carver, Walter Harris, who won the Governor General’s award for his artistic contribution to Canada. Michael expresses his vision through paintings, carvings and photography.

Pacific Editions of Victoria has printed Michael’s work over the past 20 years, and he has sold his prints in galleries all throughout BC.

Curriculum Vitae: Michael D. Blackstock RPF, C.Med., MA