KITIMAT, B.C. – On a recent visit home, renowned Haisla artist Lyle Wilson made a discovery that left him stunned: a quiet residential street bearing his own name, a lasting tribute from a dear friend that he never knew existed.
“I had no idea that he had followed through with it,” Wilson said, recalling a conversation years ago with his late high school friend, a local Kitimat contractor. “I laughed because I didn’t really think he was serious.”
His friend, who passed away in 2019, had been developing a new housing division and mentioned the idea of naming a street after Wilson. Years went by, and the artist forgot all about it. But during a month-long visit to work with the Kitimat Museum and the Haisla Nation, he decided to look it up.
“There is a sense of un-reality about it,” he said. “No one gets a street named after them while they’re still alive. It’s surreal.”
Wilson, who grew up between Kitamaat Village and Kitimat, expressed his sadness that he could no longer thank his friend in person, a man remembered in the community as a pillar of kindness and generosity.
The gesture, however, goes even deeper. The friend had quietly followed Wilson’s successful career and intended the street name to honour not only him but also his uncle, Sam Robinson, a full-time carver who first inspired Wilson to pursue art. It was an act of friendship that also honoured two generations of Haisla artists.
“His father had some good friends in the village, and so did he,” Wilson explained.
For Wilson, whose work is now featured in museums and galleries around the world, the discovery has made his trip home this summer especially meaningful, prompting him to reconnect with old friends and the community where his artistic journey began. The quiet street sign has become a permanent reminder of a friendship that was, as he put it, “ahead of the curve when it comes to reconciliation.”
