The acrylic paint is black, red, and green.

The paint is black, blue, red, and green.

The paint is black, red, blue, and white.

Spirit of the Ancestors-Puppet headdresses representing a skeletal human figure are rare in museum collections. The Towkit (or Toogwid) dancer uses magical puppets to display her supernatural power, part of the Tseyka (or Red Cedar Bark) dances of the Kwakwaka'wakw. This puppet wears a bagwikila, a cedar bark neck ring with a human body, as worn by the Hamat'sa (cannibal dancer), the most prestigious of the Tseyka dance privileges.

The paint is black, red, and white.

The paint is black, red, white, blue, and brown.

Spirit of the Ancestors-All Northwest Coast people have traditions of giant, often malevolent human-like creatures that dwell in the dark wilderness and occasionally interact with humans. The Dzoonokwa is the archetypical monster-giant of the Northwest Coast. Sometimes described as an eater of human flesh or a stealer of children, she also can be the bestower of power and wealth. For those whose ancestors have met and bested her, the privilege of representing the Dzoonokwa in carved post, mask, and dramatic performance is a prized privilege. - Bill Holm