Journey Home

As an adopted First Nations child I grew up away from my culture; when I started doing art a number of years ago I started a personal journey.  My parents always insisted that I learn as much as I could about Tlingit culture.  They would take me to museums and expose me as much as possible to Tlingit art.  But as kid I was more interested in being with my friends.

By the time I was in my twenties I started to ask questions where I was from and what being Tlingit was about.  Along my journey I have become aware that I have roots in the Kaska Nation as well and that I belong to the Wolf Clan from Watson Lake Yukon. 

This painting is about my journey ‘home’ in sense – it is about traveling into my culture as a proud Wolf clan member and taking responsibility in our art, our community, our family, our generation, our beliefs and how we conduct ourselves.  This personal journey is symbolized as a great Northwest canoe with a Wolf on its side.