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Table of Contents
Foreword
The Basic Elements of Pacific Northwest Native Indian Art
The Colors of Pacific Northwest Native Indian Art
The Shapes & Form of Pacific Northwest Native Indian Art
Pacific Northwest Native Indian Art Animal Design
The Region of Pacific Northwest Native Indian Art
Pacific Northwest Native Indian Totem Poles
Pacific Northwest Native Indian Tribal Masks
The Thunderbird in Pacific Northwest Native Indian Art
The Bear in Pacific Northwest Native Indian Art
The Eagle in Pacific Northwest Native Indian Art
The Killer Whale in Pacific Northwest Native Indian Art
The Raven in Pacific Northwest Native Indian Art
The Salmon in Pacific Northwest Native Indian Art
Pacific Northwest Native Indian Art Authenticity
Tips on Buying and Shopping for Authentic Carvings
Interior Decorating and Pacific Northwest Native Indian Art
Profile of Carver Gary Baker
Profile of Carver Peter Charlie
Profile of Carver Cody Mathias
Profile of Carver Paul Joseph
33 Additional Resources

Foreword
I had lived in Vancouver very briefly as a child and it was during that time when I was first exposed to the art of the Northwest Coast Native Indians. It was the towering colorful totem poles out in Stanley Park that everyone gazed at with wonder and appreciation. It took about 30 years later during a return trip to Vancouver when Pacific Northwest Native Indian art caught my eyes again.
I was in Vancouver for business and landed at the city's new airport terminal. One could not help but notice the huge native carvings near the arrivals area. Later on during my stay, I decided to wander around in the Gastown district. It was in these shops and galleries in Gastown where I fell in love with Pacific Northwest Native Indian art. I saw many wonderful wooden plaques representing different animals. There were also art prints, paintings, masks, wooden bowls and even furniture with these animals either painted or carved right into the pieces.
The colors and designs, which might be considered a bit exaggerated to non-native eyes, were striking as well as bold. I knew at that time that I wanted to include some of this magnificent artwork on my walls back at home. So I bought two plaque carvings and carried them home like newly found treasure.
Historically, the Native Indians who lived along the river valleys and coastal waters of the Pacific Northwest were all hunters and gatherers. The region was blessed with abundant resources from both the seas and forests. These people captured in their artwork the animals they hunted and observed. These included bears, killer whales, eagles, ravens, salmons, wolves, hummingbirds and even frogs. Chiefs and mythical characters important in their legends such as thunderbirds were also included as art subjects.
Pacific Northwest Native Indian art is just only recently gaining some major attention in some galleries and museums around the world. Compared to other native arts such as Inuit (Eskimo), exposure of Pacific Northwest Native Indian art is still rather limited to the northwest coast of Canada and the United States. This form of artwork is virtually unknown to most parts of the world including many regions of North America. This will hopefully changeas more people from around the world travel to Vancouver. The future winter Olympics in 2010 up in Whistler, BC will also have a positive impact on the region's aboriginal art. I personally believe that Pacific Northwest Native Indian art has a lot of potential to be internationally recognized and accepted.
This eBook will hopefully give the reader a good overview of what Pacific Northwest Native Indian art is all about as well as what makes it so distinctive from other aboriginal arts. I hope to help the extremely talented Pacific Northwest Native Indian artists get more international exposure for their work with this eBook as well as through the Free Spirit Gallery website (http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca). After all, it would be a real shame if they had to stop doing their art in order to take up other jobs just to make ends meet.
Clint Leung
The Basic Elements of Pacific Northwest Native Indian Art
Pacific Northwest Native Indian art is so distinct from other styles of Native American art that most neophyte admirers can probably easily spot a piece of aboriginal artwork that came from the Northwest out of a crowd containing other native arts. The interesting thing is that they don’t have to really understand why Pacific Northwest Native Indian art is so easy to distinguish in order to do this. There’s something unique and characteristic about the Northwest Indian styles that set them apart.

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