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 “My
name is “Winadzi” which means the Raider, a name
given to me by my grandfather Chief James Aul Sewid
of the Kwicksuteniuk/Mamalelakala clan of the
Kwakwakawakw people. I was born in Alert Bay,
B.C. on February 18, 1969. I moved to Campbell River
at a very young age and lived there for most of my
life. I moved to North Vancouver in September 1996
to attend Vancouver Film School Classical Animation
and 3D Animation courses.
I started drawing at a
young age and was always fascinated by the artistic
styling of my people. I started carving at the age
of 15. My ambition at the time was to dance my own
mask. I soon accomplished this by dancing my own
thunderbird head-dress that a friend purchased from
me and still keeps in his collection today. After
that I soon came to realize that people liked my
artwork and became more involved in the world of
carving.
I worked hard and learned
much from my father and other carvers such as Wayne
Alfred and Beau Dick. I worked with other artists
such as Max Chickite and
Patrick Logan and entered into the district level of
competition in 1994 in Campbell River. I won an
award of excellence and was encouraged to continue
up to the regional and finally the provincial
levels. I won awards of excellence there as well. I
entered another mask the following year and won at
the district level and decided to stop after finding
that the competition for the district was out of
town and I was too busy at the time to continue.
My carving style has been criticized
by my peers and family as being wild and untamed. I
take this criticism well as I consider myself as
being the same. I consider my works as being on the
contemporary side; non-traditional and
non-conforming. I have done traditional pieces for
myself and for traditional events such as
potlatches. I believe strongly in my culture and
practice several culturally beneficial ways for
myself and the next generation to learn from. I am a
dancer, writer and storyteller. Through these, I
hope that the younger generation that follows will
not forget where they come from and continue with
the culture and traditions that I was taught by my
ancestors."
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