...inspired by ancient spirits
This is version of Sassy Raven by Owen Walker is a little smaller than the transforming Raven. This one is all Raven, he shows no human parts and is split so you see both halves of him on the bracelet. This is a very common practice in North West […] Read more »
Whales, powerful hunters of the sea, were given much respect by native people. They were believed to have their own villages on the bottom of the sea. The Haida people believed that any Whales appearing in the sea in front of a village were drowned persons returning to communicate […] Read more »
Ancients of the Northwest Coast believed that some animals could supernaturally change their appearance and take on human form. Some humans could also transform into animals or mythic creatures when it was useful to do so. Bear moved back and forth from animal to human form, and as a result […] Read more »
This is another hand carved bear design by Owen Walker, and it occurs to me that I don’t know how many different bear designs I have produced, and I guess it doesn’t matter. When you live in South East Alaska (the Panhandle), bears are your neighbors even in the towns. […] Read more »
Long, long time ago when the world was new and all was twilight and the powers were new and fresh, Raven was exploring the new world. He flew and hopped and walked all around touching the trees and rocks learning all he could from each of them. One day he […] Read more »
If you lived in a lovely green land that was filled with bears both black and grizzly and did most of your traveling on the sea you would call the animal that we call a sea lion today, a Sea Bear. Grizzly bears eat salmon, sea bears eat salmon, […] Read more »
Flying Frog Frog’s appearance in ancient Haida Art is fascinating because there were no Frogs on Haida-Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) until they were recently introduced. To the Haida, Frog was a strong spiritual being and was a watchman and messenger from the spirit world. While Frog may seem a small […] Read more »
The Potlatch The potlatch may be one of the most misunderstood social mechanisms in history. When settlers and traders arrived on the Northwest coast, they were invited to great week long winter parties where every one was fed, and fed very well, and great quantities of goods were […] Read more »
Raven Transforming It was Raven, with both human and bird qualities, which placed the sun, the moon and the stars in the heavens. First, that sly character, would devise a way to trick Grandfather Creator into letting him play with the glowing orbs in his magic box. Succeeding in that […] Read more »
These two designs are a celebration of the salmon that sustain life and culture on the North West Coast. We who live here often take the salmon for granted just as people in other places may take their daily bread for granted. Salmon may not be quite as important to […] Read more »