According to archeological record, the Queen Charlotte Islands were populated at least seven thousand years ago. Haida traditions claim the origin of humankind in the islands, but they also tell of the subsequent arrival of the ancestors of certain lineages by sea. In either case, the ancient Haida were of necessity expert canoeists, and generations of hard and practical experience made them unsurpassed designers, makers, and users of canoes. This canoe model was made by the renowned Haida artist Charles Edenshaw. (Holm, Spirit and Ancestor, 1987)

Haida trading canoes returning from the Nass brought with them as part of their cargo the horns of mountain sheep, from which they made spoons and bowls. The species native to the northern coastal mountains is the Dall sheep, with amber horns somewhat less massive than those of the bighorn sheep. Mountain rams' horns form large, tapered spirals of very tough resilient material which can be carved with woodworking tools and has the quality of becoming soft and flexible when soaked and heated. (Holm, Spirit and Ancestor, 1987)