Dance Paddle Depicting Bear by Tim Alfred, Kwakwaka'wakw Nation

Dance Paddle depicting Bearby Tim Alfred, Kwakwaka'wakw Nationred cedar, pigment36” height x 4.5” width  x 1.25” widthTim Alfred was born in 1967 in Alert Bay, located along British Columbia’s central coast. In 1985, he moved further north to the village of Fort Rupert, just a short distance from Alert Bay. His family tree is a mixture of several bands including Kwakwaka’wakw (Fort Rupert), Namgis (Alert Bay), Mumtagila (Etsekin and area), Mamleleqala (Village Island), and Tlowitsis (Turnour Island). During a memorial potlatch for his brother in 1989, his mother’s family at the Big House in Alert Bay placed him in the family’s Chief position. There he received the name “Mus-cum-tsi” symbolizing the four clans of the Kwakwaka’wakw Nation. Over the years, Tim has donated many of his ceremonial pieces for use by various families at their Big House potlatches. At the young age of 20, Tim began to carve in the world-renowned Kwakwaka’wakw style. Although Stanley Hunt mainly taught him, Wayn