Great ladles, with figures of mythical creatueres carved on their handles, are used to distribute food from the feast dishes. The Burke Museum collection includes a pair of large ladles decorated with carved Sisioohl heads. The Sisioohl head is conceived as an extension of the handle, bent back upon itself and joined to the neck of the spoon. The head, with its coiled nostril, scaly crest, and spiral horn, is deeply carved and painted in black, red, green, and white. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

This delicate northern carving in translucent horn is of unknown use. It may have been riveted to a horn spoon bowl to serve as a handle. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

This mask was made by Willie Seaweed, an artist well represented in the Burke Museum collection. The heavy drooping eyebrows and mustache, open mouth, and staring eyes suggest a certain naivete. The face is entirely white, with the features in black and red. It is a highly intellectualized piece of sculpture, typical of Willie Seaweed in every way. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

One of the most characteristic objects of Northwest Coast manufacture is the copper. Superficially resembling a shield, it had throughout the northern coast a place of high regard as an object of chiefly paraphernalia. Among most of the coastal people, and especially among the Kwakwaka'wakw, it was considered to represent monetary wealth. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

Shell and beaver tooth knives were probably the aboriginal prototypes of the crooked knife of historic times. Knives with long handles and upward-curved blades meant to be drawn toward the carver were used over a good part of North America. The version of this man's knife common to the Northwest Coast typically has a short, double-edged blade with a gradually increasing curve mounted on the underside of a slim handle. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

This figure stood on top of a pole that was erected in 1928 at the time the Fort Rupert Kwakwaka'wakw were called to a great potlatch at Blunden Harbor. The eagle was carved by Willie Seaweed, the chief of the Nakwakdakw, and was said to be watching for the arriving tribe. It is carved of red cedar and painted in black, red, yellow, and white. Much of the paint has weathered away, but enough remains to suggest its original appearance. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

The presence of supernatural power is expressed in some of the Tseyka performances by the sound of whistles. The hamatsa in particular is known by his whistles, which his attendants blow whenever the power of Bakhbakwalanooksiwey becomes strong in him. His first approach to the village after his long absence, supposedly at the house of the cannibal spirit, is heralded by the eerie sound. Whistles are held secret and are never intended to be seen in use. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

This mask represents one of the mythical human-eating birds that appear during the Hamatsa dances, the most important of the Tseyka dances. The appearance of these masks helps to calm and tame the initiate Hamatsa dancer, who has been possessed by the Cannibal Spirit. The dancer, hidden by a long fringe of red-dyed cedar bark, imitates the high-stepping actions of the bird, shouts the bird's call, and snaps the hinged beak loudly at important points of the dance. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

This mask was carved by the artist, Willie Seaweed. When it is used in the Tlasula performance, the killer whale and sun mask appears following the disappearance of the headdress dancer. Moving with slow steps around the dance house, the blanketed mask dancer turns his head one way and another to display the great sun disk and killer whale glowing in the firelight amidst swirling white down blown by the attendants. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

Throughout the masking area of the Northwest Coast, the dramatic effect of opening jaws and other moving parts on masks was recognized. Of all the tribes using masks, however, the Kwakwaka'wakw carried articulation to its highest development. This small thunderbird forehead mask uses two variations on the theme. The lower mandible is hinged to allow it to open and close, and the crest of wooden feathers between the ears can be spread like a fan or dropped back to lie flat on the head. Strings control movement of these parts. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)