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COASTAL BLUES...... Carving by local Kwakwala artist Rande Cook 
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I'm happy that you looked further. The village/island where he was born, Alert Bay has an interesting history. The Native peoples of the coast lived in small, scattered villages. There were many languages, cultures, traditions, stories. The Europeans brought diseases that killed about 90% of them. Sometimes whole villages were decimated and only a few people would remain. The government gathered them up and moved them to larger central villages. The "Indian Agents" didn't realize that they spoke different languages, they all sounded the same to them. Sometimes these Native people who found themselves in the same village, were traditional enemies. The town where Rande was born and grew up is such a town. It's called Alert Bay. There was an Indian Residential School there too. I went to a ceremony there a few years ago, which culminated in burning down the school.....there was much emotion. One of my friends from there was an amazing artist. He had many stories of the school, as did other friends. It's a beautiful place... I really admire Rande's inventiveness, his spirit of creative experimentation....his ability to express himself and innovate while retaining the artistic traditions of his people. A rare bird.
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There is a striking mask....also sold, that is a collaboration with a woman artist. It is a fascinating and striking combination of the traditional Native dance-mask and a European life-like style........Amazing..I grew up in Prince Rupert, which is the urban centre, the hub, if you will, of the First Nations, who have hundreds of villages in the area, with a population that is 75% Native, including Tsimpsean, and Haida. A couple of hundred miles inland, a Native cultural centre was built. K-Saan. In Old Hazelton. Their first function was to collect cultural material. Books were written, thousands of hours of tapes and videos to record the cultures before they died out. The elders taught eager students how to gather and prepare foods, make clothing etc. There was an art school. They taught many kinds of arts, carving, theater, singing, dancing. Many of my friends went there, I wanted very much to go, but I was White. I even considered marrying my best friend who was an amazing carver and became very well known. It was a Renaissance. These were my people, but I understood the concept of cultural appropriation. I loved and respected them and their culture, but I had to move on and so I came South. I was very conscious of the influence in my own art work, but there wasn't enough for others to notice....most of the time...... About 5-6 years ago, I did a large painting....3 by 4 feet. I entered it in a juried show. The names of the artists are covered up so the jurors won't be prejudiced. As soon as the jurors left, the director of the gallery, who is an old friend, phoned me to tell me that when the jurors were judging my painting, all 3 of them assumed it had been done by a Native man. We laughed about it, at the juror's assumptions, but no one has ever commented on that since.
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