Northwest Coast Indian/Native American

Hamatsa Mask

A young man is possessed by a cannibal spirit, HAMATSA, the man-eater that lives at the north end world. The dance refers to the capture, taming, and return of the initiate

• used in a dance, where the mask opens and closes

• The dance was outlawed by the whites, then “relegalized” in 1936

Formline

style common to many Northwest native cultures, Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian, going back 2,000 years

• balance of positive and negative shapes, rounded oval shapes

• U-shapes with varying line widths

Negative Space

unpainted aspect of design in formline, and cut away in relief-carved designs

Positive Space

painted space on surface in formline most often painted in black or red

Finelines

lines are thin and appear near the thicker design, used for depth

Formline Traditional Colors

Colors were made using chewed salmon eggs to make a protein-based binder, mixed with ground-up minerals, making the mixture adhesive to wood

• Black: charred wood & bones

• Red: red ochre, vermilion (cinnabar), red lead

• Blue: vivianite

• Green: celadonite

• White: kaolin, chalk, shells

Northwest Indigenous People

first contact with European settlers in 18th century

had a heavily wooded forest, with water surrounding

Crooked Beak Mask by Willie Seaweed

1873-1967, cedar bark/wood, feathers, fiber

• worn by Hamasta dancer, made by a chief

Chilkat Robe

formline design woven into fabric, making the curved lines more complicated

• women typically wove textiles while men carved and designed formlines

• was worn in dance, causing the robe to move

• a royal object in motion