About Us

I-Hos Gallery is owned by the K'ómoks Band. Our shop presents a collection of traditional and contemporary Northwest Coast artwork designed and made by Indigenous artists.

Our culture is expressed through our art. We deal directly with all of our First Nation artists and provide you with legends, stories behind designs, and artist biographies.

We are located between Courtenay and Comox on Vancouver Island, on the site of the original K’ómoks Village. The beautiful house front design of I-Hos Gallery incorporates a whale, “Queneesh” and the double-headed sea serpent, “I-Hos”. These creatures represent important crests of the K’ómoks people. Standing inside of the entrance pole is a sxwayxwey (kway kway) dancer. The dancer wears a mask with protruding eyes and tongue. The dancer carries a scallop shell rattle and wears a tunic of swan feathers. This prestigious dance was a privilege of high-ranking K’ómoks families. This exceptional artwork was designed exclusively for I-Hos Gallery by Calvin Hunt in 1995 and was carved with the assistance of his nephew Mervyn Child and cousin Geary Cranmer.

We are proud business partners of Pentlatch Seafoods, Salish Seafoods and Puntledge RV Park.

We are proud members of

Certified Authentic Indigenous

I-Hos Gallery is an participant in the Authentic Indigenous program, which assists in identifying tourism operators who provide high quality experiences for visitors while respecting cultural content and directly supporting Indigenous communities.

An Authentic Indigenous cultural tourism experience is majority Indigenous owned or controlled, satisfies industry standards, has high operating standards, and sufficient cultural content that is culturally appropriate and recognized by the originators of that culture while providing an opportunity for visitors to interact with Aboriginal people during the cultural tourism experience.

Awards

2013 AtBC Industry Awards

Retail Award Winner

Presented to an Aboriginal business or businessperson who has shown success and innovation in the operation of their retail store, offering guest a variety of unique and traditional gifts to take home. Preference was given to nominees who promote Authentic Aboriginal artists and products.

2013 BC Aboriginal Business Awards

Outstanding Business Achievement Award Winner

The BC Aboriginal Business Awards are presented by the BC Achievement Foundation in partnership with the Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, and generously supported by New Relationship Trust, BC Hydro, Teck, Encana, Spectra Energy and MNP.

2013 Comox Valley Annual Community Awards

Small Business of the Year Award Winner

Since 1974 the Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce has supported the community in recognizing their very best through the Comox Valley Annual Community Awards program. Over the years, the caliber of nominations we have received remains consistently high.