Lillian Pitt is a local Native American artist whose work reflects her Wasco heritage. She did not become an artist until age 38 when she began working with clay. Now, Pitt works with a variety of materials and is a renowned sculptor, jeweler, and printmaker, as well as an advocate for Native American art. She is especially well known for her masks and other small clay figures that are inspired by the stories of her people that she was taught as a child. The petroglyphs along the Columbia River and other traditional Wasco images have also served as a major source of inspiration. In Wasco Totem, Pitt has created clay forms with traditional Wasco motifs that are similar to those found on baskets, beadwork, and stone carvings. These clay pieces are then assembled on a rough-hewn board and attached with brass nails and wire. The result serves as a monument to the Wasco people. The similarity of the image to a crucifixion also refers to the tremendous struggles that the Wasco and other Native Peoples have endured.

Symbolizing great concentrations of wealth and prestige, coppers, or tlakwa, are publicly displayed on ceremonial occasions. Among the Kwakwaka’wakw, these copper plaques are cut or broken and the pieces are distributed to rivals as a means of intimidation through a show of wealth. Visual evidence indicates that this copper had been broken into multiple sections, then pieced back together with rivets along the ridge. The painted killer whale crest design reflects a more recent addition, perhaps applied over an earlier rendering. Coppers are esteemed items, and their ceremonial transfer remains part of dowry negotiations for the Kwakawa’wakw.

Museum Purchase: Indian Collection Subscription Fund, Rasmussen Collection of Northwest Coast Indian Art.

Museum Purchase: Indian Collection Subscription Fund, Rasmussen Collection of Northwest Coast Indian Art. Collected: Axel Rasmussen

Museum Purchase: Indian Collection Subscription Fund, Rasmussen Collection of Northwest Coast Indian Art.

Museum Purchase: Indian Collection Subscription Fund, Rasmussen Collection of Northwest Coast Indian Art.

Museum Purchase: Indian Collection Subscription Fund, Rasmussen Collection of Northwest Coast Indian Art.

Distinct ornaments in this style are often called chief's headdresses because only persons of high status customarily wear them. In particular, the heads of noble houses giving potlatches are frequently seen in such garb during welcoming dances and speeches. Before use in a dance, the hollow center of the headdress is filled with bits of eagle down, which scatter about as the wearer moves, symbolizing goodwill toward his guests.

Museum Purchase: Indian Collection Subscription Fund, Rasmussen Collection of Northwest Coast Indian Art.

Museum Purchase: Indian Collection Subscription Fund, Rasmussen Collection of Northwest Coast Indian Art.