Bruce Alfred

Bruce Alfred (Kwakwaka’wakw/Namgis) was a recipient of the 2008 Bristish Columbia Creative Achievement Award for Aboriginal Art. The other winners of this prestigious $5,000 award were Reg Davidson (Haida), Charles Elliott (Coast Salish/Tsartlip), Debra Sparrow (Coast Salish/Musqueam) and Daniel Tom (St’at’imc/Seton Lake). Bruce is an established artist who has been creating artwork for over twenty-five years. He has exhibited his work at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland and has pieces in the British Columbia Provincial Museum and the University of British Columbia, at the Museum of Anthropology. Bruce predominantly carves masks, rattles and bentwood boxes. He is regarded as one of the best bentwood box makers.

The box shown is known as a canoe box and it is made to fit in the bow of a canoe. These boxes are water-tight and designed to hold fishing supplies.