By Erin Linn McMullan

Nuu-chah-nulth art and carving from č̓iinuł (totem poles), welcome figures, and masks to dugout canoes carry beautiful histories forward. The Vancouver Island-based artists and master carvers who have been revitalizing Nuu-chah-nulth art often began in childhood with traditional teachings integral to practicing their craft, advancing through apprenticeships and sometimes formal instruction to achieve technical mastery in design, foundation, structure, scale, and proportions. However, the true vibrancy of this art comes from a more holistic approach infusing the work with every fibre of the artist’s being, their culture, their community.

Get to know these 4 inspiring Nuu-chah-nulth artists:  

JOE DAVID 

If you traveled to Načiks (Tofino) via Vancouver International Airport, you may have been greeted by Tla-o-qui-aht master carver Joe David’s Clayoquot Welcome Figures towering three metres tall. Downtown in Načiks, his incredible gift to Tofino – Tlaoquiaht ha’wiih Totem (Sept. 7, 2017) – in the spirit of moving forward – stands in Anchor Park overlooking the harbour and the Village of Opitsaht where he was born. Atop this č̓iinuł, a Thunderbird perches above a humpback whale: both elements representing hereditary chiefs or Ha’wiih. Acknowledged as “among the most respected master carvers of the Northwest Coast”, he also contributed the topmost sun crest – representing natural law and respect – to Tiičswina, We Survived! (March 29, 2013) which stands beachfront next to Maht-Mas-Uuthluuk – “The Chief that looks after his people” (August 27, 2025) at Tla-o-qui-aht owned Tin Wis Resort.

Joe David is an internationally recognized Nuu-chah-nulth artist who trained formally in fine and commercial art and a recipient of the BC Achievement Award (2015).

Watch Joe David describe Nuu-chah-nulth visual signatures Here.

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TIM PAUL

Hesquiaht master carver Tim Paul first started painting in childhood then began his carving career at Arts of the Raven Gallery under Ben Andrews in Victoria in 1975. Two years later, he assisted Richard Hunt in the carving program at Thunderbird Park at the Royal BC Museum, graduating to First Carver for eight years (1984 –1992). He oversaw commissions for Stanley Park in Vancouver, international sites in Wakefield Park and Yorkshire Park in England, and a Nuu-chah-nulth pole given by the People of British Columbia to the city of Auckland, Aotearoa in celebration of the 1990 Commonwealth Games. In 2024, he began collaborating on a pole celebrating the connection between Nuu-chah-nulth and Māori culture. If you’re driving through Port Alberni, stop at Victoria Quay where his 37-foot tall language revitalization pole n̓aasn̓aasʔaqsa (Sept. 18, 2021), carved from an 800-year-old windfallen cedar, overlooks the water.

Recognized with a BC Achievement Award (2010), his silkscreen prints portray Nuu-chah-nulth legends and his carved masks were featured in Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation 2 at the Museum of Art and Design in New York, NY.

Watch Tim Paul carving n̓aasn̓aasʔaqsa Here.

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ART THOMPSON

A carving project honouring world-renowned Ditidaht artist Tsa Qwa Supp Art Thompson and designed by one of his students now serves as a gateway to Nitinaht Lake in his home territory on Vancouver Island. Art Thompson carved totem poles and panels for commissions in Canada, the US, and his Nuu-chah-nulth homeland. A painter, jewelry maker, and carver, he studied fine arts at Camosun College in Victoria leaving a legacy of artwork whose spirit infuses the campus, including his 15-foot-tall welcome figure, Bukwila dedicated to the Ditidaht chief of the same name in front of Lansdowne’s Wilna Thomas cultural centre. Instrumental in the centre’s creation as well as an annual Bursary to support Nuu-chah-nulth students, he received a Citizen Award from the City of Victoria and Canada’s National Aboriginal Achievement Award (2000).

Art Thompson lectured internationally and co-wrote his biography with his daughter Evelyn Thompson George. His artwork has been on display at Royal BC Museum, the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, QC, Stanford University in California, and in private collections around the world.

Watch an interview with Art Thompson Here.

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JOE MARTIN

Tla-o-qui-aht Master carver Tutakwisnapšiƛ Joe Martin Master has been a driving force in revitalizing Nuu-chah-nulth dugout canoe carving, organizing č̓iinuł for community, mentorship, and stewardship in Clayoquot Sound. He collaborated with master carver Joe David and other local carvers on Tiičswina, We Survived! (March 29, 2013), leading the work on Hinaaqsuuqʷa raised in Opitsaht (July 1, 2022), Naa’was (Listening to the land) at Naa’waya’sum Coastal Gardens in Tofino (August 1, 2023), and Maht-Mas-Uuthluuk at Tin Wis (August 27, 2025), all hand raised in the traditional way and without the use of a winch. His traditional Nuu-chah-nulth dugout canoes are on display at the Tofino Visitor Information Centre, Na’aWaya’Sum Coastal Gardens, and internationally.

In recognition of all these contributions, Joe Martin recently received the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Maritime Achievement and has also been recognized with a BC Achievement Award (2012).

Watch Joe Martin discuss protocols and craft integral to Nuu-chah-nulth art Here.

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