Mungo Martin

A n I n t r o d u c t i o n t o
C o n t e m p o r a r y N a t i v e A r t i s t s i n C a n a d a

M u n g o M a r t i n

b. 1879, Fort Rupert, British Columbia
d. 1962
First Nations Affiliation: Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl)

Mungo Martin (Chief NaKePenkim) attended residential school only briefly, apprenticing in carving with his stepfather, master carver Charles James. Martin is one of the Northwest Coast's most significant artists and mentors, who greatly contributed to the preservation of traditional Kwakwaka'wakw culture, and instigated its resurgence. Martin restored poles and houseposts for the University of British Columbia's Museum of Anthropology and for the Provincial Museum of British Columbia, and was chief carver at the latter institution's Thunderbird Park. He also replicated and created new feast dishes, masks, dance screens and other objects of utilitarian and ceremonial uses, and recorded many of the oral histories, traditions and 400 songs he knew. In addition, he carved a half-scale replica of the house in which he was born, and to dedicate it, held the first public potlatch since the governmental potlatch ban was rescinded. Martin was posthumously awarded a medal by the Canada Council.

R E C E N T E X H I B I T I O N S

1991	U'mista Cultural Centre, Alert Bay, British Columbia (travelling)
1989	In the Shadow of the Sun (travelling)
1960	Memorial Pole. Courtenay, British Columbia
1958	Royal Pole (copy). Vancouver, British Columbia Royal Pole. Windsor Great Park, London, England
1956	Kwakwaka'wakw totem pole. Beacon Hill Park, Victoria, British Columbia
1952	We'waditla ("he orders them to come inside"); traditional big house built in Thunderbird Park; numerous poles, feast bowl, masks). Royal British Columbia Museum, Vancouver, British Columbia
1902	Raven-of-the-Sea totem pole. University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, BC

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

Beacon Hill Park, City of Victoria, British Columbia
Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, British Columbia

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

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

Cardinal-Schubert, Joane. "In the red." In Borrowed Power: Essays on Cultural Appropriation, eds. Bruce Ziff and Pratima V. Rao, 122-133. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1997.

"Cultural history as fragile art: The works of Kwakiutl chief Mungo Martin illuminate a culture that survived despite famine, disease, adversary laws, religious censure and the suppression of its language." Vancouver Sun, 2 March 1991, p. D8-D9

"Distinguished artist remembered: A Slender Thread weaves tapestry of Kwaguilt culture (Vancouver Museum)." Kahtou 9, no.2, (March 1991): 16, 22.

Hall, Edwin, Margaret Blackman, and Vincent Rickard. Northwest Coast Indian Graphics: An Introduction to Silkscreen Prints. Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press, 1981.

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

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