Donnie Edenshaw

Donnie Edenshaw is the son of Haida artist Cooper Wilson. His Haida name is Gaju Xial, meaning “Song and Dance Man”. He is a member of the Raven clan of Old Masset in Haida Gwaii.

“I’m glad both my parents are Haida. My mother and father kept me going. They taught me the real stuff and supported me doing art. They kept it fun, but they also impressed upon me that carving would be something useful in life. When I was a teen, carving gave me a reason to be home, a reason to develop as an artist. These were valuable lessons and because of them I am a carver, a singer, and a dancer.”

quote from Breathing Stone: Contemporary Haida Argillite Carving by Carol Sheehan, 2008