A stunning sculpture by Bill Reid at the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On May 8, 2025 I visited the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. I saw a stunning sculpture by Haida artist Bill Reid which I had previously used in a blog post back on September 20, 2014 titled More great stories from Canadian family physicians. The caption says that:

 

The Raven and the First Men

 

“ ‘The great flood, which had covered the earth for so long, had at last receded and the sand of Rose Spit, Haida Gwaii, laid dry. Raven walked along the sand, eyes and ears alert for any unusual sight or sound to break the monotony. A flash of white light caught his eye and there, right at his feet, half buried in the sand, was a gigantic clamshell. He looked more closely and saw that the shell was full of little creatures cowering in terror in his enormous shadow. He leaned his great head close and, with his smooth trickster’s tongue, coaxed and cajoled and coerced them to come out and play in his wonderful new shiny world. These little dwellers were the original Haidas, the first humans.’   

 

Haida artist Bill Reid first interpreted this origin story in a small boxwood carving. The Raven Discovering Mankind in a Clam Shell in 1970 (displayed in a wall case in this gallery)[and shown second]. Ten years later, he completed the monumental sculpture of laminated white cedar, The Raven and the First Men.

 

This is the first large, modern sculpture by a Northwest Coast First Nations artist to depart from the tradition of totem pole or mortuary monument carving. Here Reid has blended Haida form and mythic content with Western naturalism, bringing expressiveness and movement to the raven and human forms.

 

Many people helped in the realization of this work. It was commissioned by Walter and Marianne Koerner of Vancouver. Sculptors George Norris, Guujaaw, George Rammell, Jim Hart, and Reg Davidson all participated in various phases of the carving.

 

The Raven and the First Men was created over a period of several years, and unveiled by His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales on April 1, 1980. It was celebrated on June 5, 1980 by the Haida people of Haida Gwaii (the Queen Charlotte Islands).”