From Beau Dick: Devoured by Consumerism by LaTiesha Fazakas with John Cussans & Candice Hopkins. Published by Figure 1 Publishing in 2019. Beau Dick was a Kwakwaka’wakw artist and activist. His work has been shown in exhibitions around the world. He was the recipient of the 2012 VIVA Award. LaTiesha Fazakas is a curator and dealer with a specialization in Northwest Coast Indigenous Art. She was the writer, director and producer of the documentary film Maker of Monsters: The Extraordinary Life of Beau Dick (2017).

Copper Ingot and Document,

Ingot made from Canadian copper pennies, Permission document from Canadian Minister of Finance.

Copper holds a special place in Kwakwaka’wakw material culture. For this piece, Beau melted down Canadian copper pennies into an ingot. Because it is illegal in Canada to destroy or deface a coin that is legal tender, Beau secured a letter from the Canadian Minister of Finance granting permission to transform the copper. The work offers an entry point to speculation on how value is stored and transferred in copper currency, as opposed to the cultural value of a ceremonial Copper.

Beaver in Hudson’s Bay Bag

Sketch by Cole Speck (picture 2)

The beaver pelt trade was the foundation of the exploration and settlement of Canada; trapping was so widespread that the beaver was almost hunted to extinction. After its founding in 1670, the Hudson’s Bay Company controlled the trade for over two hundred years. In exchange for beaver pelts, HBC traders gave Indigenous Peoples wool blankets featuring this striped design, which is still central to the company’s brand. Some early British colonizers also used blankets like these to infect Indigenous populations with smallpox. Blankets were nevertheless adapted into and remain an important part of many Indigenous cultures, and the HBC blanket and the beaver remain two of the most iconic—albeit conflicted—symbols of the birth of Canada as a nation.

The sketch here depicts a work conceived by Beau but to be completed by his apprentices, Cole Speck and Alan Hunt. The beaver symbolizes Beau’s roles as a carver and a provider for his family.