Nathan Wilson is a Haisla artist and educator from British Columbia. Nathan is a two-time Scholarship award recipient and has received both an Emerging Artist Scholarship in 2012 and a Mid-Career Artist Scholarship in 2019. For his Mid-Career Artist Scholarship, Nathan created Master of the Mountains, a mountain goat mask with the intention of gifting it to his community for use as a teaching tool.
Master of the Mountains was exhibited in the group exhibition c̓əc̓əwitəl̕ | helping each other | ch’áwatway at the Museum of Vancouver in 2020.
Master of the Mountains, 2020
Red Cedar, Mountain Goat fur, acrylic paint Dimensions: 21” x 9.5” x 12”
Master of the Mountains, 2020
Red Cedar, Mountain Goat fur, acrylic paint Dimensions: 21” x 9.5” x 12”
“The mountain goat or “cag” is a special animal to the Haisla and Hennaksiala people. Throughout Haisla history, it was highly sought after for its woolen clothing and meat for nourishment. Families would hike high into the mountains to set up camps to hunt them and men would train from a young age to “master the mountains” and become skilled hunters.
I wanted to honour this relationship between the Haisla and the mountain goat by carving this mask. As a hunter, I have experienced the challenge of harvesting these animals and understand why they are so well respected. This mask will be gifted to the people of Kitamaat Village and will be put on display with their artifact collection.”
– Nathan Wilson
