“I'm very fortunate to be surrounded by people who are willing to share their knowledge and their skills with me and pass that knowledge on so I can do the same thing,” says Kwiis Hamilton. He is Nuu-chah-nulth and Sto:lo on his dad’s side and he’s from Port Alberni. On his mom’s side, he’s also Sto:lo. Professionally, he’s been a jewelry and printmaker for six years. Outside of that, he paints, does videography, photography and poetry, too. He’s also been doing standup poetry and painting murals. Before that, he was a glassmaker for a decade. Since he was fifteen, he’s been making art for a living and now he’s 31.

As far as training for his work, he learned from mentorship. In 2019, he started making jewelry on his own, making his own tools. Initially, what he made was basic. One of his uncles, William White, a Tsimshian weaver, suggested he learn from Shawn Edenshaw, a Haida and Gitxsan jewelry maker. Edenshaw taught him the basics of jewelrymaking, melting coins to make silver sheet metal, stone setting, engraving and design. His next mentor was Morgan Asoyuf, a Tsimshian jewelry artist who helped him refine his work. He would spend days drawing pieces to get ready to engrave them.

Chuck Heit, another Gitxsan jewelry maker, taught him to live as an artist. Richard Adkins, a painter, carver and jewelry maker, helped Hamilton’s designs feel more dynamic and give them more energy. Gerry Sheena is teaching him about cedar and Josh Watts, Hamilton’s cousin, is teaching him to carve a cedar mask.

His father being a jewelry maker made him decide to follow this career path. “I don't really have a strong relationship with him, and I think part of me maybe wanted to feel a bit closer to him,” he reflects. It’s also why he wanted to give gifts to his sister and his mom. “We put our crests, our familial stories, our rights, our title, our laws are written into our jewelry and the things we wear. I thought it was really important to be able to gift my mom and my sister some nice things and it turned into a job pretty quick,” he explains.

When it came to obstacles, during the pandemic, Hamilton struggled with isolation and feeling like he couldn’t reach out to the people he cared about or reach out for help. He struggled with his mental health and wasn’t able to take care of himself. He spent a lot of time on the land and doing frontline work, fighting for Indigenous rights and title. He put all his energy into the fight and none into taking care of himself, sleeping on couches or in his car, showering in gyms. When people asked why he said, “I do it because it feels like the reason why I'm here on Earth. I do it because it's like the thing that keeps me grounded and keeps me busy and gives me meaning. It's my vocation.”

“My family has friends that span generations and different territories, and each of those cultures, each of those relationships, those friendships, they all have meaning.”

During the most difficult times in his life, to keep his mental health in check, Hamilton did his best to feed himself and maintain basic hygiene. He remembers being told as a child “It doesn't matter how rough things get, how people treat you. Remember who you are, you're unshakable. If you know who you are, it doesn't matter what's happening around you, what people are saying, any of that.” Those precious words came from his adoptive grandmother Vera Newman from Alert Bay. Singing to himself and listening to music and potlatches on YouTube helped him lift himself up.

“I recognize I'm part of a larger family of creation.”

When it comes to inspiration, Hamilton says, “I think it's really, really cool to be able to be inspired by your experiences, whether that's like in your home community or traveling or telling stories from like your childhood, or for me, a lot has to do with that, moving through pain towards healing, moving through grief towards healing.” He finds he creates during extreme emotions.

His advice for youth who are interested in art making is to practice daily. “Artwork is drawing or painting or carving or jewelry, singing, dancing, whatever your art is that you want to get into, take it so seriously and take care of it like you take care of your friend or your family, nurture that love and that care that you have for what you're learning to do, and really be easy on yourself,” he encourages. Looking back on his first pieces, they aren’t as good as what he makes now, but they were great for the time and he was doing his best consistently and improving.

“I think it's really important to give yourself grace and kindness when you're starting out doing any kind of art, and speak to people about it. One of the main reasons I have these mentors is that I spoke to people about it.…the more people you put that message out to, the better off you'll be down the road. You speak about the things that you care about in your life, and don't be shy…,” he encourages.

“If someone offers you space or time in their life to teach you, take it seriously because it's a really big gift. Honour that, give yourself grace, because you're not going to be amazing at everything when you first start. Some people are, but it's very few and far between us that are really refined once we start. It takes time,” he offers, thinking of how renowned carver Beau Dick offered to mentor him and he didn’t take it seriously.

In closing, Hamilton shares a final message, “Keep making things and keep telling your story. Really understand who you are, where you come from, as best as you can.” A lot of his understanding of who he is on his dad’s side is secondhand. He spends a lot of time reading and researching everything he can to understand his own identity.

“Stay learning about who you are...When you create things, you help shape who you are. When you tell stories, you really offer an avenue for people to learn and to understand each other. It's really important, so keep that up,” he concludes.

Surrounded by people willing to share their knowledge and their skills and pass that knowledge on so he can do the same, Kwiis Hamilton is learning everything he can. Inspired by his family and by the reasons he felt he was placed here, Hamilton creates, fights for Indigenous rights and stands firm in his identity. Developed by mentorship, his skills refined over time through the generosity of others.

Thanks to Alison Tedford Seaweed for authoring this article.