Hunt, Calvin (Chief)
Calvin Hunt, (1956): Chief Tlasutiwalis, Kwaku'l, Fort Rupert and Hereditary Chief Nasnamus, Mowochaht, Friendly Cove
is the youngest son of Kwagu’l Hereditary Chief Thomas Hunt, and Emma, the daughter of a great Mowochaht Chief and Shaman, Dr. Billy, of Tsuwana from Yuquot (Friendly Cove). He is also the grandson of renowned carver Mungo Martin and grandmother, Abayah. In 2004 Calvin was inducted into the prestigious Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, and honoured with the BC Creative Achievement Award for Aboriginal Art in 2009.
He was born into a wealth of traditional values and started woodcarving at the age of twelve under the informal guidance of Henry Hunt. In 1971, he apprenticed with Tony Hunt Sr. at the Arts of the Raven Gallery in Victoria.
In 1981 Calvin and his wife Marie Hunt moved from Victoria to his ancestral home. In May 1988, he carved and raised the Hunt Pole, hereditarily owned by his oldest brother, George Hunt Sr., in
With the resurgence of canoe building in 1993, Calvin and his nephew, Mervyn Child, carved a 32’ Northern Style canoe that represented the Kwagu’l Nation at “Quatuwas” canoe gathering in Bella Bella. This canoe, named after his mother, “Maxwalaogwa”, belongs to the Maxwalaogwa Canoe Society, formed by Calvin and his wife, Marie. Calvin has also carved the 32’ Northern Style “I-Hos”, and 40’ Northern Style “Ugwamalis Gixdan”, with Mervyn’s assistance. He has helped with the carving of a Munka canoe, and a 37’ West Coast Style canoe from Quatsino. Calvin has also carved a 22-foot Nuu-chah-nulth style sealing canoe (ch’apats), with Mervyn’s assistance.
In 1995, during a potlatch given by Calvin and his brother, Ross Hunt Sr., he received his Chief’s name, from his wife’s side of the family, “Tlasutiwalis.” In July of 1998, he was seated as the fourth primary Chief of the Mowachaht; the Hereditary Chieftainship, which belonged to his grandfather, Dr. Billy, of Tsuwana (Friendly Cove), his Chief’s name being “Nas soom yees.” On May 28, 2004 Calvin was honoured with induction into the prestigious
