History of the I-Hos Logo

The K’omoks First Nations I-Hos Gallery in the Comox Valley opened over 19 years ago and in commemoration of this event, Master Carver and Chief Calvin Hunt speaks about the history of the I-Hos logo and the local stories he and his team drew from that inspired the design back in 1994.

Calvin Hunt comes from the village of Fort Rupert, on the northern end of Vancouver Island. Many years ago Calvin and his carvers were commissioned to carve a canoe, and they drew inspiration from the Legend of Queneesh; a creation story from the K’omoks Village. When it came time to design the front of the I-Hos Gallery building they carved this Great Whale (Queneesh) with a door entrance which represents the blowhole. On the whale’s tail is the main body of the sea serpent with the bodies coming off to the sides. The sea serpent is a double-headed serpent.

This is the design that also was put on the canoe that was commissioned in 1994 that was built to go to the North American Indigenous Games as well as the Commonwealth Games. The reason Calvin and the other artists put the sea serpent on the canoe was to protect the pullers and the canoe as well.

Watch the video to listen to Calvin speak about this logo design in more detail.