Digital Print - Sisiutl & Copper
Sisiutl & Copper, 2025
Peter Dawson, Kwakwaka'wakw
Digital Print
11 x 11"
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The Sisiutl
A mythical creature in the culture of the Kwakwaka’wakw people of the Northwest Coast. It is a representation of our knowledge of all that is good and all that is bad. A double headed serpent with a face in the middle and hands of either side. In some of our traditional dances the left hand is raised with the hand shaking and alternates with the right hand and at times both are drawn into chest. The raising of the left hand represents all that is full of love, happiness, and construction of our world. The raising of the right hand represents all that is full of hate, anger, and destruction. When we draw the hands to the centre it represents our understanding of both worlds and that we cannot live just on one side. Bad things and decisions will always happen to us as well as good things and it is the acceptance of both worlds, we have to live our lives.
The Copper
Chiefs and their families had songs, dances, masks, and other items that were either given to them or inherited or passed down through generations. Among these items were the most prestigious, the Copper. It held a traditional name and a history through what was usually a long line of family heritage. A Copper’s wealth back in our great grandfather’s time would be as much as 2000 button blankets or more if it was a broken Copper. Some coppers have pieces broken off of them, known as a “Copper Breaking”. This represents a wrong that has been done to the family and a piece is broken off to signify the recognition of the wrong doing and give the copper more power and meaning. The family lets go of all the hurt that was done, and they break the copper to signify this, giving the power of the hurt being released to the copper, and the family has released that burden and has let the issue go.
