Richard Hunt is one of five artists who will be 鈥渁rtists in residence鈥� at the five featured homes on this year鈥檚 Art Gallery of Greater Victoria Associates House Tour. The tour takes place today, and tickets are available for $35 at the gallery, at Ivy鈥檚 and Munro鈥檚 book stores, and online at associates.aggv.ca or call 250-384-4171
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鈥楾hese days, photographers are publishing gicl茅e prints of First Nations carvings without even asking for permission,鈥� Richard Hunt told me recently. 鈥淎nd they are laughing, because we can鈥檛 stop them. It鈥檚 kind of hopeless.鈥� He paid for a legal opinion, and the lawyer told Hunt that the photographer has every right to do what he鈥檚 doing.
鈥淚t鈥檚 getting worse, they鈥檙e trampling on us, and we have no rights for our people. We need laws for First Nations, to protect our culture. This can鈥檛 wait another hundred years.鈥�
In addition to a well-earned cynicism about federal politics, Richard Hunt also doesn鈥檛 have much time for tribal politics.
鈥淥ur people go to the Bighouse and argue about what we own,鈥� he noted. 鈥淏efore they have the ceremony, the chiefs say what you own and what you can do.鈥�
Hunt told me a story about the ownership of his Dance of the Animal Kingdom, which he was given in 1985, at a potlatch in Hopetown.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a tiny village of four houses,鈥� he recalled. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a remote village, and hardly any body went to the potlatch. We built a plastic bighouse out of cedar strips because it was pissing rain, and the chief said we had to stop this potlatch 鈥� right now!鈥�
Before they broke up the ceremonies, Tom Willie, who was holding the potlatch, gave out a few gifts. At that time he initiated Richard Hunt into the hamatsa dance, and gave him ceremonial rights to a thunderbird headdress and to a name. It is important that these rights and privileges are witnessed and the gifts are beyond dispute. 鈥淚 got it on video tape,鈥� he told me. 鈥淚 paid to have that potlatch recorded.鈥�
Richard Hunt gets a lot of recognition in other ways. As we walked down the hall in his home, we passed a framed diploma which was presented to him by the City of Los Angeles and the Southwest Museum. It proclaimed Richard Hunt as 鈥渢he First Native artist to receive the Order of sa国际传媒, and a recipient of the Order of sa国际传媒鈥� a Ritualist and a Dancer.鈥� Specifically, it honoured him for his restoration and repair of the totem he had originally created for them in 1986, as a gift to the people of Los Angeles.
鈥淚 did that with Tim Paul at the听Epcot Centre,鈥� Hunt said. 鈥淚t听was quite hot.鈥�
Hunt has received an honorary doctorate from the University of Victoria. And about 125 of his artworks were created for the 鈥淧otlatch Collection鈥� of the Royal British Columbia Museum, masks and regalia which can be loaned to accredited dancers in place of the fragile antique originals.
Beyond the traditional, he has taken his cultural property to places where it has never been before, such as the witty prints he has produced to commemorate numerous golf tournaments.
鈥淲e are not stuck in the past,鈥� he assured me. 鈥淲e can work in co-operation. I tell them: 鈥淵ou guys understand that I鈥檓 First Nations, and I thank you for actually using a First Nations person to create a design for you.鈥� 鈥�
Hunt鈥檚 graphic designs have been central to the CBC, the Commonwealth Games (1994), and the Royal Victoria Marathon.
So what is genuine native art? That brought up the subject of status, and non-status. 鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to figure out who is who,鈥� Hunt told me. 鈥淛ust ask them, 鈥渄o you have a status card?鈥�.
鈥淏ut a lot of native people these days weren鈥檛 raised by natives,鈥� he said. 鈥淟ater, they found their culture, but they don鈥檛 care about status.鈥�
The times, they are a-changing.
Thinking about the new generation, I asked him how he felt about native designs made with waterjet cut steel, or sandblasted cedar. Hunt reacted strongly: 鈥淭hat鈥檚 just goin鈥� rampant right now. I just couldn鈥檛 do that. I鈥檇 rather carve it. It feels like you鈥檙e cheating or something.鈥�
By this time on our tour, we had reached his backyard carving shed, currently home to a four-metre pole. 鈥淭his is the biggest thing I鈥檝e done in here, and it will be the last big thing.鈥�
At the base of the pole is a bear with a man; then a killer whale with seal in its mouth and a man on its back; and, on top, an eagle with a man on his tail and and eagle on his chest.
This project has brought challenges which would be disastrous in less-practised hands, but his long experience helps him to overcome them all. Unfortunately, his hands won鈥檛 stand up to this kind of work much longer.
Yet working with wood is always a delight to Hunt. He spoke fondly of the huge laminated cedar panel he recently carved for the Harbour Air Terminal in Victoria. 鈥淭hat was beautiful wood,鈥� he recalled. 鈥淚 carved it basically with a straight knife. The wood was so soft. 鈥︹��
And with that he turned to his engraving bench, where four strips of gold awaited him. 鈥淚鈥檓 way behind on that,鈥� he admitted. 鈥淔our bracelets I gotta do.鈥�
It鈥檚 hard work, but as long as he is able, Richard Hunt will continue to develop his cultural property.
This is the second half of a two-part feature on Richard Hunt. The听first instalment appeared in Islander on Sept. 17.
