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Raven

1987

First Nations, Inuit, born 1951

As well as among Northwest Coast Indigenous groups, Raven is an important spirit being in the Arctic. During rituals, a shaman would go into a trancelike state and take over the soul of an animal, like the raven. This is done so that the shaman might assume its qualities, such as keen eyesight or stealth, to help him find the lost soul of his patient.

Serigraph

23 3/4 x 18 in. (60.3 x 45.7 cm)

Gift of R. Bruce and Mary-Louise Colwell

2020.4.1

Provenance: [Open Pacific Graphics Ltd., Victoria, British Columbia]; purchased from gallery by Bruce Colwell, Seattle, Washington; to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 2020

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Avian Avatars: Birds in Northwest Coast Prints from the Colwell Collection, Dec. 15, 2021 - June 12, 2022.

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.

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