Don Yeomans

Haida / Metis Nations

Born on June 29, 1958, in Prince Rupert, BC, Don Yeomans is one of the most respected and renowned Northwest Coast Native artists. Born of a Masset Haida father and a Metis mother from Slave Lake, Alberta, Yeomans has studied and worked in the Haida Style since he was a youth.

As a young man, Yeomans apprenticed under the expert guidance of his aunt, Freda Diesing. He worked with Robert Davidson RCA on the Charles Edenshaw Memorial Longhouse and completed a jewelry apprenticeship with Phil Janze. Yeomans has also studied fine art at Langara College in Vancouver.

He has worked with many acclaimed Northwest coast artists, including Bill Reid, Robert Davidson, Phil Janze and Gerry Marks, studying their styles, techniques and philosophies.

Don Yeomans crafts his artworks in many materials: he creates exquisite jewelry pieces in gold and silver, paints elegant Haida designs on paper, produces outstanding prints and is one of the finest carvers.

His work can be found in the University of British Columbia’s Museum of Anthropology, the Royal British Columbia Museum, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, and the Seattle Art Museum. In 2002 he completed a major totem pole commission for Stanford University.