Tom D. Hunt

Tom D. Hunt (Watawidl) was born in Victoria in 1964 and is a prominent carver and painter of the Kwakwaka’wakw/ Kwagiulth Nation, with ancestral ties to ‘Nakwaxd’xw (Blunden Harbour) and Tsaxis (Fort Rupert). He is the son of Hereditary Chief George Hunt and Mary Hunt and will succeed his father as a Hereditary Chief. Hunt began his apprenticeship in Kwakwaka’wakw art at age twelve under his father, later collaborating with renowned carvers such as his brother George Hunt Jr., his uncle Calvin Hunt, and his maternal grandfather Sam Henderson, who imparted to him the artistic style of the ‘Nakwaxda’xw Nation. Hunt’s artistic contributions extend globally, with works in collections worldwide. He continues to create from his home in Tsaxis, where he resides with his wife and daughter, perpetuating and enriching the cultural legacy of the Kwakwaka’wakw people through this art.