A well-known, talented Tla-o-qui-aht artist, Joe David, received the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award from the BC Achievement Foundation in recognition of his artistic contributions to his people and to the province.
Six first nations artists from the province were presented with BC Achievement Awards for First Nations Art. The awards ceremony took place at the Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver, Dec, 7, 2015. Watch the video here at
Joe David was awarded in recognition of his extraordinary and sustained accomplishments in first nations art in British Columbia and for the profound impact his work has had on his culture and people.
In a video made by the BC Achievement Foundation, David talked about what drove him to make some of his most memorable works of art. He talked about being related to one of the Ha’wiih who was among the first to see explorers arriving at Friendly Cove (Yuquot).
He said his ancestor warned of the ravages and destruction those people would bring and he carved a cedar man figure to commemorate this warning. It was a story more than 200 years old and it came back to him when a logging company planned to log Meares Island, near David’s present-day home.
Natives and many people in the non-native community wanted to protect Meares Island from industrial logging and they began organizing protests and blockades.
“That is when I carved Cedar Man II,” David said. It was a call to rally the people to do something, to bring consciousness to the people, he said of his carving.
The Cedar man was taken to Victoria and erected on the lawn of the Parliament Buildings in a protest that called upon government to save Meares Island.
David says his work represents family, history, his home and the environment. He has created a beautifully carved chest that he says he will bring home to Meares Island. He is concerned about the pollution in the world’s oceans, especially when it comes to plastic.
“It is disturbing –all the plastic in the ocean, ironically, mainly plastic water bottles,” he said. David said he will paddle around Meares Island and fill his carved chest with all the plastic refuse he finds.
At the awards ceremony, David thanked the BC Achievement Foundation on behalf of his family and his people, because, he said, they are why he does the things he does. He then sang a song to honor the five other award winners.
The British Columbia Achievement Foundation says its intent is to showcase the best of British Columbia and to inspire young people and to celebrate B.C.'s great achievers.
The British Columbia Achievement Foundation is an independent foundation, established with an endowment of $8 million from the province.
