Mickey, Charlie
Charlie Mickey (born 1919) Hesquiaht Band of the Nuu-chah-nulth Nation of Vancouver Island, in the village of Hesquiat, about 40 miles northwest of Tofino, BC Canada. Charlie got married to Caroline. Together they had 13 children. Bruce, one of them, passed away at a young age (28) and Mark, who is an accomplished artist on his own. In 1972 Charlie carved a magnificent pole named "The Great Hunt" - This carving tells a story of a great whale hunt. For years, the nine eldest sons of a west coast chief had tried, without success, to harpoon a whale.
One day the tenth and the youngest heard the noise of the Thunderbird, a sign that a huge whale was close-by. Although he had never been permitted on a whale hunt, the youngest son vowed to capture this whale. His father and brothers scoffed at his plans. The youngest son loaded his brother’s canoe with floats, ropes and a harpoon, and accompanied by five men, set off the shore. Paddling hard, they caught up to the whale and drove in the harpoon, but the blow failed to kill the whale. For many days it towed the canoe out to sea, beyond sight of land. Finally they came to a deserted island where the whaled beached itself. Alone on the island, the whaling crew were afraid, and thought they would never see their village again.
