b. 1873, Blunden Harbour, British Columbia
d. 1967
First Nations Affiliation: Kwakiutl

Kwakiutl Chief Heyhlamas (The One Able to Set Things Right), or Willie Seaweed, is celebrated for preserving his Nation's traditions during the arduous period of the potlatch ban (1884-1951) and pressures of assimilation. Aided in this mandate by his traditional upbringing, the resistance of other carvers, and the isolation of his community, Seaweed was also known as an innovator who applied the new, vibrant enamel paints and tools such as the straight-edge and the compass to technically-refined and flamboyant works which departed from the austere Kwakiutl style. Although he was a carver of a staggering range of utilitarian and ceremonial objects, Seaweed was most renowned for his masks, particularly those depicting the Hamatsa Cannibal Raven for the prestigious Cannibal Spirit Dance.

R E C E N T   E X H I B I T I O N S

S E L E C T E D   C O L L E C T I O N S

Campbell River Museum, Campbell River, British Columbia
Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Québec
Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington
Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado
Denver Museum of Natural History, Denver, Colorado
Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan
Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta
McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario
Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, British Columbia
Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
U'mista Cultural Centre, Alert Bay, British Columbia
University of  BC Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, British Columbia
Vancouver City Museum, Vancouver, British Columbia

S E L E C T E D   B I B L I O G R A P H Y

American Indian Art Magazine 19 (Spring 1994): 104. [reproduction]

Canadian Museum of Civilization, ed. In the Shadow of the Sun: Perspectives on Contemporary Native Art. Hull, Québec: The Museum, 1993.

Coe, Ralph. Sacred Circles. London, England: Arts Council of Great Britain, 1976.

Hawthorn, Audrey. Kwakiutl Art. Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press, 1979.

Holm, Bill. The Box of Daylight: Northwest Coast Indian Art. Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press, 1983.

Holm, Bill. "The art of Willie Seaweed, a Kwakiutl master." In The Human Mirror, Material and Spatial Images of Man, ed. Miles Richardson. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press, 1974.

Holm, Bill. The Crooked Beak of Heaven: Masks and Other Ceremonial Art of the Northwest Coast. Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press, 1972.

Holm, Bill. Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analysis of Form. Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press; Vancouver, British Columbia: Douglas & McIntyre, 1965.

Holm, Bill. Smoky-Top: The Art and Times of Willie Seaweed. Vancouver, British Columbia: Douglas & McIntyre, 1983.

Holm, Bill. Spirit and Ancestor: A Century of Northwest Coast Indian Art at the Burke Museum. Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press, 1973.

Hoover, Alan L. "Charles Edenshaw: His art and audience." American Indian Art Magazine 20, no. 3 (Summer 1995): 44-53.

La Violette, Forest. The Struggle for Survival: Indian Cultures and the Protestant Ethic in British Columbia. Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press, 1973.

Macnair, Peter, Alan Hoover, and Kevin Neary. The Legacy: Tradition and Innovation in Northwest Coast Indian Art. Vancouver, British Columbia: Douglas & McIntyre, 1984. Originally published: Victoria, BC: British Columbia
Provincial Museum, 1980.

Malin, Edward. Totem Poles of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press, 1986.

Malin, Edward. Review of Smoky-Top: The Art and Times of Willie Seaweed by Bill Holm. American Indian Art Magazine 12 (Winter 1986): 69.

Stewart, Hillary. Looking at Indian Art of the Northwest Coast. Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press, 1979.

Thornton, Mildred Valley. Indian Lives and Legends. Vancouver, British Columbia: Mitchell Press, 1966.