Many mythical creatures are represented in the Tlasula dances, according to the traditions of the family displaying the privilege. The personified earthquake is one of these. It is painted in black, red, and green on a natural wood background. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

Singers who sit at the back of the house in front of a painted screen use wooden batons such as these to beat on a plank on time with their songs. The baton (in front), which has a thunderbird design, may have been carved by Willie Seaweed.

In times past the Kwakwaka'wakw did not use chairs, but sat on the floor or on the ground, sometimes leaning on the platform of the house, or on a plank fastened against stakes driven in the ground. A wealthy chief may have a more elaborate settee, carved and painted with his crests. This small settee, made by artist Willie Seaweed, was probably made for a favored child. The mythical creature depicted is called a Sisioohl. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

The large background area of unpainted wood is more Bella Coola than Kwakwaka'wakw in style, and the simple geometric pattern of red stripes resembles some mask painting of the former tribe. The use of gambler masks in a stylized performance of the widely known Hand Game or Bone Game as part of the Tlasula is well documented. High-ranking guests are invited to play against the masked gamblers and are paid lavishly. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

This mask was made by Willie Seaweed, an artist well represented in the Burke Museum collection. The heavy drooping eyebrows and mustache, open mouth, and staring eyes suggest a certain naivete. The face is entirely white, with the features in black and red. It is a highly intellectualized piece of sculpture, typical of Willie Seaweed in every way. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

This figure stood on top of a pole that was erected in 1928 at the time the Fort Rupert Kwakwaka'wakw were called to a great potlatch at Blunden Harbor. The eagle was carved by Willie Seaweed, the chief of the Nakwakdakw, and was said to be watching for the arriving tribe. It is carved of red cedar and painted in black, red, yellow, and white. Much of the paint has weathered away, but enough remains to suggest its original appearance. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

This mask represents one of the mythical human-eating birds that appear during the Hamatsa dances, the most important of the Tseyka dances. The appearance of these masks helps to calm and tame the initiate Hamatsa dancer, who has been possessed by the Cannibal Spirit. The dancer, hidden by a long fringe of red-dyed cedar bark, imitates the high-stepping actions of the bird, shouts the bird's call, and snaps the hinged beak loudly at important points of the dance. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

This mask was carved by the artist, Willie Seaweed. When it is used in the Tlasula performance, the killer whale and sun mask appears following the disappearance of the headdress dancer. Moving with slow steps around the dance house, the blanketed mask dancer turns his head one way and another to display the great sun disk and killer whale glowing in the firelight amidst swirling white down blown by the attendants. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

This mask was one of a set of six purchased by Sidney Gerber from its native owner in Blunden Harbor, B. C. It has been repainted white over an older painting and has black eyes, eyebrows, and mustache, with traces of red around the nostrils. Masks were often repainted, either to brighten them up after use had dulled the colors or to change the character of the mask, as appears to be the case here. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

This mask was made by Willie Seaweed as part of a set for the Gyidakhanis dance. The most obvious features of the artist are the precision and clarity of the planes of the face and the clean, meticulous painting. The mask is painted a solid white with commercial paint. The tiny mustache, round eyes, and arched eyebrows of typical Seaweed conformation are in glossy black, while the lips and nostrils are in red. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)