With the growing popularity of First Nations art has come an increasing curiosity about the people of the bands of the First-Nations that call this culture their own.
Among the most well known of these groups is the Haida, occupying the archipelago of Haida Gwaii as well as multiple areas along the coast of Canada and the United States.
The people of the Haida were traditionally known throughout history as fierce warriors, slave traders and cannibals. Their canoes, made from a single red cedar tree, enabled them to move quickly and quietly, attacking in what became known as a “lightening raid” against which their enemies had little defense.
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With the arrival of the Europeans and the smallpox that caused devastating amounts of damage among the native tribes of North America, however, the focus of the Haida switched from war to survival. Before all was said and done 90% of the native population was wiped out, and the band had fled to the mission towns attempting to escape from the deadly plague that took no names and showed no mercy.
Known for the Beauty and Detail of their Art
Today the people of the Haida are primarily known among the global community for the beauty and detail of their art.
The foundation of the civilization of the Haida is based upon the belief that the Raven, the “trickster” of First Nations lore that was believed to have released man and woman from the clamshells that held them captive and stole the sun, the moon and the stars to help ensure mankind’s survival, was the “father” of the creation of mankind.
Throughout their artwork the theme of the Raven, his generosity and his threats against mankind are seen over and over.
Also consistently present throughout the artworks of the Haida are the crests of the spirits of the animal world. Often these crests identify the moiety and the lineage of the artist or the individual for whom the piece was made.
There are currently over seventy crests in the mythology of the Haida that appear throughout all aspects of their artwork, including their tattoos, their carvings, their moccasins, their paintings and their jewelry, although only a small fraction of them are used with any regularity.
It is important to note that for the Haida art was not something done simply for art’s sake. Rather, the art of the people held a purpose rooted in the spiritual world which was believed to exist parallel to their own and from which the animal and other spirits could interact with their tribes.
In order to truly understand the tribes of the Haida it is first necessary to understand their customs, their stories and their legends; however, when staring at the art of the Haida it is enough to know that behind each piece is a story, and behind each story a civilization with a history so rich and diverse it lives long beyond the point when many of its brothers have given up in the face of modernization.
Look here for more on Haida art.