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Clan Unity
Dempsey Bob is a Tahltan Tlingit artist, born at Telegraph Creek on the Stikine River. He began carving about 1970, first studying with Freda Diesing at Prince Rupert.
Clan Unity is carved from red cedar and detailed using acrylic paint. The crests together represent cultural unity and completeness. It features symbolism of the four main Northwest Coast Native groups – The Raven, Wolf, Eagle, and Killer Whale (Orca).
The Orca
The Orca symbolizes family, romance, longevity, harmony, travel, community, and protection.
The Raven
The Raven symbolizes creation, transformation, knowledge, prestige, complexity of nature
The Eagle
The Eagle is known as “The master of skies” and is a symbol of great significance.
The Wolf
Dempsey Bob is a member of the Wolf Clan.
The Wolf Clan represents the path finders. Their responsibility is to guide the people in living their lives in the way the Creator intended. The Native Wolf Symbol represents loyalty, strong family ties, good communication, education, understanding, and intelligence.
The Wolf is a super social and communicative creature, it uses body movement, touch, and sound. The Wolf Symbol has an important cultural significance to First Nations in North America.
PROJECT DISCLAIMER AND THANK YOU
The Art@NAC project is a student assignment within MPAD2002: Basics of Visual Communication. Research, narratives, and development are conducted by Bachelor of Media Production (BMPD) 2nd-year students at Carleton University and it is not an official National Art Centre (NAC), Carleton Immersive Media Studio (CIMS), or Carleton University project. Special thanks to the NAC, CIMS, and Carleton University for their support.
All photographs and videos are provided by the NAC Archives, Carleton Immersive Media Studio, and BMPD Students’ Joe Creech and Eddie Benhin, unless otherwise noted.