Kakaso'Las Ellen Neel Thunderbird and Dzunukwa Totem

Kakaso'Las Ellen Neel Thunderbird and Dzunukwa Totem pole. Ḵaḵaso’las Ellen Neel (Kwakwaka’wakw, 1916-1966) was one of the first documented women to be a professional Northwest Coast carver. Neel was also one of the mid-20th century artists who helped transform Northwest Coast art from a largely regional and anonymous ethnographic tourist industry into an internationally successful fine art market. Although she is perhaps most remembered for her role in making space for women in the Northwest Coast carving world, Neel was also an innovator in art production and marketing methods, being one of the earliest Northwest Coast artists to license her designs to be reproduced on everyday objects. This model pole is a classic design of Neel’s and features a Thunderbird with spread wings over a Dzunukwa, the Wild Woman of the Woods. The Thunderbird features a painted human face on its chest and is adorned in an unusual blue paint alongside the classic black and red. The Dzunukwa is depicted in a seated position with her arms wrapped around her knees. A hairy, Sasquatch-like giantess, Dzunukwa is shown here totally covered in black hair, her lips pursed into a whistling shape, with her…