Douglas David

Nuu-chah-nulth / Sioux / Dakota Nations

Douglas David was born in 1971 into the Nuu-chah-nulth nation, on his father’s side and the Sioux Dakota nation on his mother’s side. Both his parents are artists, and from birth Douglas has been exposed to the traditional art of these cultures. At the age of eight Douglas realized his visions could be transferred from thought to hand and has been carving ever since. Douglas acknowledges his father Joe David, a renowned master carver along with Douglas’s mother and ancestral spirits as his teachers and mentors.

Douglas’s specific crests belonging to the Nuu Chah Nulth nation are the Wolf, Killerwhale, and Thunderbird. These crest images are prevalent in his works on wood and raw hide. Now, as a single parent of 7 children, he has passes on his own experiences and knowledge to them to ensure the continuation of this artform from one generation to the next so it will thrive and survive.

His son Adonis David is a great emerging talent known for his original paintings, boxes and paddles.

Douglas is an experienced carver and his works are in various collections worldwide. He is considered part of the next generation of master artists of the Northwest Coast.