Halibut hook (Naxw)

ca. 1890

Tlingit

Haida

Halibut—giant flatfish that can weigh one hundred pounds or more—were traditionally caught from cedar canoes using special barbed hooks. Fishermen might use imagery that references the help of the shaman. This one represents a human figure with animal- like feet biting an octopus tenacle. The octopus appears frequently on shaman charms and was considered to be a supernaturally powerful being.

Yew wood, yellow cedar, iron, cedar bark twine, and commercial cotton twine

4 5/8 x 1 3/8 in. (11.75 x 3.49 cm)

L.: 9 1/2 in.

Gift of John H. Hauberg

91.1.105

Now on view at the Seattle Art Museum

Resources

Published ReferencesThe Spirit Within: Northwest Coast Native Art from the John H. Hauberg Collection, Seattle Art Museum, 1995, pg. 90

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

Learn more about Equity at SAM