Sasquatch Bigfoot Country & Whale Carving
Cecil Dawson Sasquatch Country & Whale
NOS Beautiful, original and signed 19 inches long by 6 3/4 inch wide red cedar wood plaque with his depiction of '' Bigfoot country & Whale'' in the style of the Kwakuitl nation.
This beautiful cedar wood plaque is signed by Hereditary Chief and artist Cecil Dawson and is ready to hung on a wall.
It is common to suggest that Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest told stories and made images of hairy man-beasts similar to the modern Bigfoot. According to major proponents of this notion (Hunter with Dahinden 1993, 15), “The earliest-known ‘recorded’ references to the Sasquatch are found on the carved totem poles and masks of the coast nations of British Columbia, particularly on those of the Kwakiutls.” Proponents cite such mythical creatures as the Dsonoqua and the Buk’wus.
Wood Carver, Painter, First Nations, Pryrographic Woodburner
Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada • Kwakuitl Nation
Born into a family of artists, Cecil Dawson began his artistic career at a very young age. His grandfather Jimmy Dick, a totem and mask carver, taught Cecil the intricacies of carving. Cecil also spent time under the tutelage of his cousin, mask carver Simon Dick. Other masters who influenced Cecil's artistic gifts were his great uncles Willie Seaweed, Henry Speck, and Dick Hawkins.
Cecil is from the Kwakwaka'wakw First Nation. His father is head chief of the Mountain Goat Hunter clan and his mother comes from the Wolf clan. Cecil's cultural involvement is important to him; he is a historian and an initiated Hamatsa dancer.
Cecil's great labour of love is to replicate his family's masks and bring them back into ceremonial use once again. By doing so, he honours his cultural and traditional values. Cecil has a strong sense of propriety and will not copy from a book. His pieces are unique and to his own style, demonstrating a deeply rooted understanding of his culture.