He also incorporated aspects of the natural world surrounding the cancer centre, which lies on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie), q̓ʷɑ:n̓ƛ̓ən̓ (Kwantlen) and sǝmyámǝ (Semiahmoo) nations.
“It's a huge honour to get the opportunity to respond to the space," White-Hill said. “One thing that I really love is that we worked with the Indigenous patients and I got to ask them questions about what they like – different images or different themes or subjects that they would like to see used with the murals, both Coast Salish, but also speaking to urban Indigenous population."
Drummer Black Jack, an elder from the Lheidli T'enneh First Nation, at the Oct. 29, 2025, blessing-unveiling of Eliot White-Hill's mural installation at BC Cancer - Surrey.
White-Hill's mural installation honours Coast Salish and Indigenous medicines and he used imagery of medicines taught to him by his late great-grandmother, Dr. Ellen White, a trained healer and a medicine woman. “She taught us a lot," White-Hill said. “She always was talking about the teaching and the different kinds of medicines that there are. All sorts of things can be medicine – it's when you talk to it, you connect with energy of the world around you, there's medicine there."
The artist also captured imagery from traditional Indigenous medicines that can be found around the cancer centre, in particular Quibble Creek.
The art at BC Cancer – Surrey includes representations of various Indigenous medicines, from rattlesnake plantain to Indian consumption plant, with striking red, green, blue and black designs brightening up the stairwell walls leading into the facility. White-Hill was helped in the nine-month project by fellow artist Jessie Campbell.
“One of the things that was really ambitious with this installation was that we didn't paint the walls a flat colour in the background," White-Hill said. “We left the natural colour of the wall and then the areas where the mural designs are, we had to prime behind the colour and really make sure that everything was clean."
Lhuxw u' tu Huli (The Flow of Life) mural by artist Eliot White-Hill Kwulasultun, at BC Cancer - Surrey.
The result is a combination of the natural texture of the walls with the vibrancy of rich images that appear to be floating as one ascends or descends the stairs.
“These murals from artist Eliot White-Hall Kwulasultun are a reflection of BC Cancer's commitment to Indigenous cultural safety and our efforts to implement and give expression to Recommendation #10 in the In Plain Sight report," said Warren Clarmont, BC Cancer executive director, Indigenous health and cultural safety. “This recommendation speaks to health authorities creating culturally-appropriate, dedicated physical spaces in health facilities for ceremony and cultural protocol, and visibly including Indigenous artwork, signage and territorial acknowledgement throughout PHSA/BC Cancer facilities."
As part of BC's 10-year Cancer Action Plan, BC Cancer is working with its Indigenous Cancer Control team to deliver culturally safe and equitable care for Indigenous cancer patients through a range of initiatives, including the addition of new Indigenous patient navigators at all centres, increasing cultural competency training among all staff and providers and improving the collection and tracking of Indigenous healthcare data.
Cancer has or will impact almost everyone in BC and White-Hill is no exception. His younger brother, Willem, 14, is a childhood survivor of leukemia and was treated at BC Children's Hospital. Willem is 16 years younger than White-Hill. “So, in a way, it kind of felt like my own kid was going through cancer," he said. In addition, an aunt is battling blood cancer and two great-grandparents had the disease.
This is why there is specific imagery in the mural installation that speaks to White-Hill's lived experience with relatives who have had cancer. For example, a longer piece of art featuring a bear praying to a cedar tree references a print he created for his aunt when she was first diagnosed with cancer.
“The title of it (the block print he created five years ago) is Even Bears Pray," White-Hill said. “Just talking about how even bears ask for help sometimes, even bears need to ask for support, even thought they are the big symbol of strength in our culture."
Yulew tu Huyqw (After The Fire) mural by artist Eliot White-Hill Kwulasultun, at BC Cancer - Surrey.
White-Hill said he hopes his artistic creation can help bring smiles to those who see it, noting he tried to be light and playful with the colours and some of the imagery.
“Also, what's really important to me is to think holistically about medicine, with Indigenous ways of knowing in mind," he said. “And that I hope that these murals help facilitate the work that's taking place at the hospital and that they can offer something to each different person who's going to be there and who sees them, whether they're a patient, whether they're working there or whether they're just visiting. I hope that there's something there to offer to the people."
Eliot White-Hill Kwulasultun finished his bachelor of arts at Vancouver Island University in 2018. He obtained his master's degree in fine arts at Emily Carr University of Art and Design in 2023. His website can be found at kwulasultun.com.
