Long, high-prowed canoes sliced the waves of the coast, driven by the paddles of northern warriors raiding the Salish for slaves, or carrying a chief, seeking a bride, and his retinue. When it was bought from its owner, Chief Jonathan Whonnock, this graceful and elaborately decorated canoe had just brought a party of Kwakwaka'wakw three hundred miles from northern Vancouver Island, to work in the hop fields of Puget Sound. On the Northwest Coast the canoe was a part of almost every human activity, from the deeds of fabled heroes and noble chiefs to the everyday business of fishing and traveling. The figure on the bow of this canoe represents an eagle with a salmon in each talon. (Holm, Spirit and Ancestor, 1987)

The paint is black and white.

The paint is white, green, black, and red.

The paint is black and white.

The paint is black and white.

The pigment is black.

The paint is red, black, and green.

Tall, completely sculptured poles were almost entirely a development of the early twentieth century. Before that time most Kwakwaka'wakw totemic monuments were either interior house posts or single figures of birds, animals, and mythical beings perched on the house gables or on tall, plain masts. This carving of an eagle is of the latter kind. The outspread wings are separate attached pieces, as is characteristic of many large Kwakwaka'wakw sculputured figures. From the character of this painting and of the sculptural form, the piece can be attributed to Arthur Shaughnessy, a prominent carver and contemporary of artists Mungo Martin and Willie Seaweed. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

The paint is white, red, green, and black. The cloth is cotton.

The paint is red, black, and green.