Hinkeet'sam—Heyatl’ik (Serpent)

ca. 1900

First Nations, Nuu-chah-nulth, Hesquiat , Hesquiaht

Heyatl’ik (meaning “curves like a snake”) is the term for the feathered lightning serpent. Similar in artistic conception as the wolf headdresses, serpent beings are distinguished by the curving circular forms on top. This unique version—having a human face with moveable eyes and mouth at the head of the serpent—is the particular tradition of the Dominic Andrews family, and is said to represent the first white men (Spanish mariners) seen by the Hesquiaht people.

Red cedar wood, red cedar bark, paint

9 1/4 x 7 3/4 in. (23.5 x 19.69 cm)

L.: 57.15 cm

Gift of John H. Hauberg

91.1.70

Provenance: Hesquiat Village, Vancouver Island, B.C.; (unknown collection); [Michael R. Johnson Gallery, Seattle, WA, by 1974]; purchased from Gallery by John H. Hauberg, Seattle, WA, 20 November 1974; gift from Mr. Hauberg to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA, 1991

Photo: Paul Macapia

Now on view at the Seattle Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistoryVictoria, BC, Royal British Columbia Museum, Out of the Mist: Art of the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Nations, July 3, 1999 - June 10, 2001

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, The Box of Daylight, September 15, 1983 - January 8, 1984

Published References"The Spirit Within: Northwest Coast Native Art from the John H. Hauberg Collection", Seattle Art Museum, 1995, pg. 264

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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