Two Wolves at the Dawn of Time

Judith Williams

ISBN 10: 0921586841 / ISBN 13: 9780921586845

Published by New Star Books, 2001

About this Item

In 1998, Dzawada'enuxw artist Marianne Nicholson scaled a vertical rock face in Kingcome Inlet to paint a massive pictograph to mark the continued vitality of her ancestral village of Gwa'yi. Two Wolves at the Dawn of Time is the story of that painting, of earlier politically defiant rock art, and of "coppers," ceremonial shields that are a central motif in these images. Judith Williams tracks the history of a culturally and geographically rich locale at a flashpoint in Native-white relations. She investigates the rock art around Kingcome Inlet, explores the disintegrating Halliday homestead, and plumbs the archives to measure colonialism's legacy. Documenting Nicholson's painting of the new pictograph, Williams describes the symbiosis of old and new that has seen Gwa'yi and the Kwakwaka'wakw prevail despite all attempts to eradicate their culture.

Seller Inventory # 00105180297

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Two Wolves at the Dawn of Time
• Publisher: New Star Books
• Publication Date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0921586841
• ISBN 13: 9780921586845
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

In 1998 Dzawada'enuxw artist Marianne Nicholson scaled a vertical rock face in Kingcome Inlet to paint a 28- by 38-foot pictograph to mark the continued vitality of her ancestral village of Gwa'yi. Two Wolves at the Dawn of Time is the story of that painting - and of earlier politically defiant rock art and the "coppers," ceremonial shields that are a central motif in many of these images. Often defined simply as currency by Europeans, the coppers represent much more. The Dzawada'enuxw never stopped potlatching, trading coppers, or creating pictographs, not even in the face of the government's attempt to move them from their ancestral villages and force their assimilation into settler society. Judith Williams tracks an amazing history of a culturally and geographically rich locale at a flashpoint in Native-white relations. Fighting recalcitrant weather, water and vessels, she investigates various forms and eras of rock art around Kingcome Inlet, explores the disintegrating old Halliday homestead, and plumbs the archives to measure colonialism's persistent legacy. Documenting Nicholson's painting of the giant new pictograph that contains the image of origin figure Kawadilikala, the Wolf, Williams provides a firsthand look into the remarkable symbiosis of old and new that has seen Gwa'yi and the Kwakwaka'wakw prevail against all attempts to eradicate their culture.

Visual artist and writer JUDITH WILLIAMS is intimately familiar with the Kingcome Inlet and Refuge Cove areas of BC's coast, where she spends her summers. She has exhibited at UBC's Museum of Anthropology and at the Vancouver Art Gallery. The author of two previous books, High Slack and Dynamite Stories, she taught painting, drawing and theory in UBC's Fine Arts Department until retirement in 1998 freed her to sail BC's fjords at will.

About the Author

Artist and writer Judith Williams gathered material on the settling of Kingcome Inlet by homsteaders and the copper/cow pictograph's relation to the potlatch ban during ten years of visits to the inlet. She is the author of two previous books, High Slack and Dynamite Stories. Williams's work has been shown at the Vancouver Art Gallery, UBC's Museum of Anthropology and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. She splits her time and mind between Vancouver and Refuge Cove on West Redonda Island in Desolation Sound.