First Name: Ron

Last Name: Hamilton

Full Name: Ron Hamilton

Alternative Names: Hupquachew, Kwayatsapalth, Haa’yuups, Ki-Ke-In (Long Sounding Thunder)

Date of birth: February 11, 1948

Place of birth: Ahaswinis Reserve, Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada

Community/Heritage: Opetchesaht tribe, Hupacasath

Sex: Male

Art Media: carving, graphics, painting, slate, wood, silver, gold, ivory

Bio: 

Ron Hamilton was born in 1948 on the Ahaswinis Reserve near Port Alberni at the head of Barkley Sound. His mother gave him the nickname Hupquatchew (“hairy all over”), which is the name he used to sign his earlier work. More recently, he was given the name Kwayatsapalth (“having a wolf on your back”), which he uses in ceremonies and as his later artistic signature.

Hamilton is a member of the Opetchesaht tribe. His mother’s family goes back to the Hee-koolth-aht; his father’s family originated among the Kyuquaht tribe. Though they came from two different tribes, his mother and father were both born and raised among the Opetchesaht. Hamilton was raised on the Ahaswinis Reserve and spent most of his life there. In the spring and summer, he goes gill-netting and trolling off the West Coast. In the fall and winter, he carves and paints.

Hamilton began painting seriously in 1965. His primary influences were Henry Speck, Henry Hunt, Cha-Latas, and Joe David. Hamilton became a teacher in Ahousaht and acted as a cultural advisor for the West Coast people, specifically in traditional singing and dancing. He has made a vital contribution to the preservation and continuation of Nootka art and design. He views his work as illustrations of the cultural world of his people. 

Exhibitions

2014-2017: Natural/Supernatural: Nuu-chah-nulth Serigraph Prints, University of Victoria’s Permanent Collection, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Collections

University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Publications

• 2006: Listing to Our Ancestors: The Art of Native Life Along the North Pacific Coast
• 2013: Native Art of the Northwest Coast: A History of Changing Ideas

Articles

• Renowned Nuu-chah-nulth artist named co-curator in famous New York City museum by Sam Laskaris, Ha-Shilth-Sa, October 19, 2018
• B.C. Nuu-chah-nulth artist named co-curator of NYC museum restoration project by Laura Sciarpelletti, CBC News, November 3, 2018
• Haa’yuups, Renowned Nuu-chah-nulth Artist and Cultural Historian, Named Co-Curator in Restoration of Historic Northwest Coast Hall, Press Release, American Museum of Natural History, October 2018