The artist is a member of the Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka) First Nation, originating from Vancouver Island, on Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada.

His father was a hereditary chief of the Snaw-naw-as Nation, originating from Nanoose Bay.

The artist is known world wide for his beautiful creations of wood, gold and silver, truly keeping the tradition of his peoples in mind. He clearly loves his art and is constantly developing new designs.

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Mouse Woman, or Kugaan Jaad, is the mother of Raven in Haida mythology. She often appears in stories as a helper or advisor to those who are on a journey or about to travel between worlds.

Legend: The Hungry Little Mouse

The mouse who lived at the base of the Douglas Fir’s trunk was grateful for the protection of the strong tree. The Douglas Fir felt sorry for the hungry mouse and told him to climb to the end of his branches, for there he would find seeds inside the cones.

The thankful mouse found the seeds filling and feasted whenever his belly felt hungry. But soon the woodland mice clan questioned how he stayed so fat and healthy. The mouse felt sorry for the hungry clan, but kept the fir’s generosity a secret, for he worried that if he told the others about his food source, then the tree would have no seeds left for the summer winds to scatter.

One night, when the forest was quiet, the little mouse climbed up the great fir tree to dine. He had no idea that at that very moment a spy mouse was watching his every move. The spy watched secretly becoming more and more excited. He could not wait to tell the rest of the mouse clan what he observed. Their hunger was about to end!

It wasn’t long before hordes of hungry mice raced towards the fir tree, climbed the laden branches, and attacked the cones of the great fir. In anger, the Douglas Fir snapped the cones closed, trapping the mice. To this day, the little legs and tails of the raiding mice can be seen sticking out from between the scales.

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Nothing is known about this unsigned piece, or who the fine artist is that created it. Our research has shown us that it is an outstanding example of a southeastern Alaskan Yup'ik Halo Mask. If you love Alaskan native art, don't miss this amazing piece.

Please zoom in to all the photos and see the remarkable craftsmanship.

A Yup'ik halo mask, also known as a ring mask or spirit wheel mask, is a type of mask used in Yup'ik dance ceremonies. They are typically made of wood, and painted with few colors. The Yup'ik masks were carved by men or women, but mainly were carved by the men.

These masks represent the artist's vision of the universe, combining elements of the Arctic realms like earth, sky, and water. They are often worn by shamans during ceremonies to connect with spirits and are believed to symbolize the bond between humans, animals, nature, and spirits.

Social aspects of Yup’ik masks
Making masks and participating in performances was also important for forging social bonds. It bought together distant communities helping solidify relationships. Reciprocal dances left different villages indebted to repay the favor. The performances were also a time of transmitting knowledge of the spirit world to the younger generation. Spirit beings were not only people, but also animals, and elements of the environment, and sometimes combinations of both. It was an opportunity for Sharman and village chiefs to exchange knowledge During ceremonies, masks transformed the individual wearing it into that spirit. Masks were not worn to pretend to be a spirit but so the dancer could become that spirit. That spirit would then ensure plentiful game in spring. This element of transformation is often reflected in the appearance of the masks themselves. Many masks combine animal and spirit and human elements.
Thank you new-guinea-tribal-arts.com/yupik-masks

For the Yupik people of southwestern Alaska, masked dancing has long been a focal point of ceremonial activity. Performed traditionally inside the communal men’s house during festivals, the dances made visible the world of the spirits and extraordinary beings and were specially made to tell particular stories.

Each mask was unique, created as a tangible manifestation of a shaman’s vision to bring the unseen or unknowable into a solid form. Yupik cosmology revolves around the close relationship between human society and the spirit world. The souls of animal spirits were thanked for willingly offering their bodies to hunters.

Yupik masks were used by shamans to facilitate communication and movement between worlds (human and animal, the living and the dead). Specimens first found their way into museum collections via nineteenth-century traders and collectors working along the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers, and soon were displayed internationally. Hanging on museum walls or sold by art dealers, the masks were admired for their brilliant sense of design and became a major source of inspiration for Surrealist artists such as André Breton, Roberto Matta, Yves Tanguy, Robert Lebel and Max Ernst.

Yupik carvers strove to represent the helping spirits they encountered in vision, dream, or experience – the central locus where the surrealists found their inspiration. Although some Yupik, such as shamans, were recognized as having more direct contact with the spirit world than others, through masks and masked dances everyone could vividly experience it.

Through the masks, sprits revealed themselves as simultaneously dangerous and potentially beneficial. Masks, in essence, were stage props, special but not sacred, and most were discarded after use.

Feathers and white downy plumes are found in many Yupik masks and are said to represent stars in the night sky.
Thank you duendeartprojects.com

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This artist is a member of the Squamish Nation which consists of descendants of the Coast Salish Aboriginal peoples, originating from the greater Vancouver area, Gibson’s Landing and Squamish River watershed. This young artist’s style is a blend of strong family Kwakwaka’wakw art styles, and unique personal taste towards contemporary inspirations. He is a member of a premier artistic family.

Squamish is a town north of Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada. It’s at the northern tip of the island-dotted Howe Sound, and surrounded by mountains like the Stawamus Chief, a huge granite monolith.

Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim is one of the 10 languages within the Coast Salish branch. The Squamish People, who are the Indigenous Peoples that speak Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim, are often referred to as the Squamish Nation today.

Kwakwaka’wakw oral history says their ancestors (ʼnaʼmima) came in the forms of animals by way of land, sea, or underground. When one of these ancestral animals arrived at a given spot, it discarded its animal appearance and became human. Animals that figure in these origin myths include the Thunderbird, his little brother Kolas, the seagull, orca, grizzly bear, or chief ghost. Some ancestors have human origins and are said to come from distant places.

The first documented contact with Europeans was with Captain George Vancouver in 1792. Disease, which developed as a result of direct contact with European settlers along the West Coast of Canada, drastically reduced the Indigenous Kwakwaka’wakw population during the late 19th-early 20th century. Kwakwaka’wakw population dropped by 75% between 1830 and 1880. The 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic alone killed over half of the people.

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The artist is a member of the Kwakwakaw'wakw (Kwakiulth) First Nations, originating from Alert Bay.

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This piece is part of a trio (sold separately or together, as desired) of the mythological birds of the Hamatsa dance, performed by a secret society.

The artist is a member of the Kwakiutl (Kwakwaka’wakw) First Nation with part of her heritage connecting to the Coast Salish. She was born in Nanaimo, a small fishing town on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. She started carving under the guidance of her father, a master carver.

With over 20 years’ experience, she has now developed her own style, clearly showing the “female touch” and absolutely fantastic craftsmanship. She shows her love for the art of carving through her detailing and her clean and deep cuts. Strong lines and truly gorgeous expressions in her pieces of art.

She loves to step outside the traditional colors and using bold, vibrant and absolutely stunning designs from both cultures, the Kwakiutl as well as the Coast Salish.

She has become one of the best known female artists from the Northwest coast and is highly sought after by collectors world wide.

Restoring their ties to their land, culture and rights, the Kwakwaka’wakw have undertaken much in bringing back their customs, beliefs and language.

In contrast to most non-native societies, wealth and status were not determined by how much you had, but by how much you had to give away. This act of giving away your wealth was one of the main acts in a potlatch.

Potlatches occur more frequently now as families reconnect to their birthright, and the community uses language programs, classes and social events to restore the language.

The Crooked Beak is one of the mythological cannibal birds of the Hamatsa secret society dance. It is one of several bird figures which play a role in the exclusive Hamat’sa society – a winter dance society unique to the Kwagiulth/Kwakwaka‘wakw. This supernatural being is one of three main bird figures who arrive during the Hamat’sa ceremony. These three are attendants to Baxwbakwalanuxsiwe’, the Cannibal-of-the-North-End-of-the-World.
– Quote from Eugene Hunt – First Nations Kwakwaka’wakw Artist

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Sisiutl is an invincible legendary creature consisting on a supernatural being at the center, flanked by sea monsters, in Kwakwaka’wakw Salish art.

The artist is a member of the Kwakwakaw'wakw (Kwakiulth) First Nations, originating from Alert Bay in their ancestral land. He is clearly a master of this art, a man who loves the traditions and history of his people. He is known especially for carving in miniature, which calls certainly for a steady hand. When he was 11 years old, he moved to Gilford Island where Jim King, a chief who presided over the potlatch, had carved a dilapidated schoolhouse. When the young artist saw the chief’s work, he decided then to become a carver. Many artists contributed to his education, including Beau Dick from 1985-1998, during which time he learned to carve masks, poles and canoes.

The Native Sea Serpent symbolizes protection, supernatural power and revival. It is one of the most powerful protective symbols in Kwakwaka’wakw culture. The Sisiutl/Sisiulth is a supernatural three-headed serpent that possesses shapeshifting abilities and the ability to turn spectators into stone when gazed upon. Not only can the Sisiutl change shape into a human or animal, but it can also transform its body into a self-propelled canoe that the owner must feed with seals.

It is said that a war party, before departing in canoes, could paint a Sisiutl onto the side of the canoe, for protection and invincibility at war. However, the Sisiutl would then be painted over - so as not to terrify the waters, whose benediction was necessary in seafaring activities. The warriors would know that the Sisiutl was still there, though, under the paint, to bestow power and protection.

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This artist is a member of the Squamish Nation which consists of descendants of the Coast Salish Aboriginal peoples, originating from the greater Vancouver area, Gibson’s Landing and Squamish River watershed. This young artist’s style is a blend of strong family Kwakwaka’wakw art styles, and unique personal taste towards contemporary inspirations. He is a member of a premier artistic family.

Mischievous and curious, the Raven plays many important roles in Pacific Northwest Coast Culture. For some, he symbolizes creation, transformation, knowledge, prestige as well as the complexity of nature and the subtlety of truth. He also symbolizes the unknown and shows that every person sees the world in a different way.

In legend, Raven is responsible for bringing unto all creation on Earth the sun, moon, and stars.

The Raven was often called upon to clarify truths in visions, as the wise elders knew that what the eye sees is not always the truth. Many people of the Pacific Northwest Coast refer to him as a helper to the creator, and it is believed by some that messages from the creator of the cosmos are buried in the wings of the Raven only to be released to the families most deserving of his knowledge.

The Raven is a long-distance healer and is known as the “keeper of secrets,” he helps us in our lives by exposing the truth of keeping secrets that could potentially harm us, in doing so he helps us back to good health. The Raven was only ever feared if misused. Thank you spiritsofthewestcoast.com.

The post First Nations Raven Circle appeared first on Forest Gems Gallery.

This artist is a member of the Squamish Nation which consists of descendants of the Coast Salish Aboriginal peoples, originating from the greater Vancouver area, Gibson’s Landing and Squamish River watershed. This young artist’s style is a blend of strong family Kwakwaka’wakw art styles, and unique personal taste towards contemporary inspirations. He is a member of a premier artistic family.

Squamish is a town north of Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada. It’s at the northern tip of the island-dotted Howe Sound, and surrounded by mountains like the Stawamus Chief, a huge granite monolith.

Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim is one of the 10 languages within the Coast Salish branch. The Squamish People, who are the Indigenous Peoples that speak Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim, are often referred to as the Squamish Nation today.

Kwakwaka’wakw oral history says their ancestors (ʼnaʼmima) came in the forms of animals by way of land, sea, or underground. When one of these ancestral animals arrived at a given spot, it discarded its animal appearance and became human. Animals that figure in these origin myths include the Thunderbird, his little brother Kolas, the seagull, orca, grizzly bear, or chief ghost. Some ancestors have human origins and are said to come from distant places.

The first documented contact with Europeans was with Captain George Vancouver in 1792. Disease, which developed as a result of direct contact with European settlers along the West Coast of Canada, drastically reduced the Indigenous Kwakwaka’wakw population during the late 19th-early 20th century. Kwakwaka’wakw population dropped by 75% between 1830 and 1880. The 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic alone killed over half of the people.

The Native Salmon Symbol symbolizes abundance, fertility, prosperity and renewal. For thousands of years, Salmon have been the primary food source for Northwest Coast Native Americans and are highly respected.

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The artist is originally from Bella Bella, in British Columbia’s Central Coast region. He’s a Heiltsuk First Nations wood carver, and has been honing his craft for more than 50 years.

Bella Bella is on the beautiful and very remote east coast of Campbell Island in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. With a population of 1,400, Bella Bella is the largest community to be found on the Central Coast north of Queen Charlotte Strait. It is home to the Heiltsuk First Nation.
Like many small communities on the coast, such as nearby Ocean Falls, Bella Bella has had a precarious and isolated existence. The artist lives at Nuutsumuut with his wife and 3 sons. Nuutsumuut Lelum is Nanaimo’s first affordable housing for families in 20 years. Nuutsumuut Lelum is Hulquiminum, the language of the Salish people. In English it means “All in One House.”

Ancestors of the Heiltsuk have been in the Central Coast region of British Columbia since at least 7190 BC or possibly even up to 12,000 BC as evidenced by a 2017 archaeological study of their traditional home on Triquet Island. The Heiltsuk are the main descendants of Haíɫzaqvḷa (Heiltsuk)-speaking people and identify as being from one or more of five tribal groups.

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