Kwakwaka'wakw art

Kwakwaka'wakw art describes the art of the Kwakwaka'wakw peoples of British Columbia. It encompasses a wide variety of woodcarving, sculpture, painting, weaving and dance. Kwakwaka'wakw arts are exemplified in totem poles, masks, wooden carvings, jewelry and woven blankets. Visual arts are defined by simplicity, realism, and artistic emphasis. Dances are observed in the many rituals and ceremonies in Kwakwaka'wakw culture. Much of what is known about Kwakwaka'wakw art comes from oral history, archeological finds in the 19th century, inherited objects, and devoted artists educated in Kwakwaka'wakw traditions.

The learning of a craft is central to the education of young tribe members. Youths are encouraged to engage in craft work, and are apprenticed to more experienced experts. Some are employed by local chiefs as personal carvers, who are then tasked to produce wooden gifts bearing the house symbols to distribute in potlatch. Wealth from trade resulted in a Golden Age of potlatch art in the late 19th century, but to curb this perceived extravagance, the Canadian government outlawed the potlatch and other ceremonies with the Canadian Indian Act of 1884, which contributed to a decline in artistic production, some say. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, several artists earned their living as carvers in the manner described above, since their work was commissioned by their villages. Once the shock of those participants in the Cranmer potlatch in 1921 wore off and governments were realizing native populations were no longer on the decline, art as a means of earning a living was encouraged - as it had begun to be in Alaska. Some carvers with standing and longevity, and some apprenticed to them later stepped forward to participate in the revival of Kwakwaka'wakw art, including sculptors Dan Cranmer, Chief Willie Seaweed (1873–1967), Charlie James, Chief Mungo Martin (1879–1962) and his wife Abayah's greatgrandsons Tony Hunt (b. 1942) and Richard Hunt (b. 1951). Mary Ebbets Hunt and Abayah Martin, Mungo Martin's wife, were both important artists who produced many woven pieces. Traditionally, women were weavers, but Ellen Neel (1916–1966), Martin's niece, went on to become a noted carver.

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