Information

Shown below are items associated with William White available without first logging in. This person appears in records from The AMNH, The Burke, and MOA.

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William White started weaving in 1982, to pass the evening hours in his family's seaweed camp. He first learned basket making from his aunt, Betty Samson, a Tsimshian basket maker. In 1990 he started to weave full time and made it his career choice. He has traveled extensively studying weavings in private and museum collections. He learned from experimentation and also from structured lessons given to him in formal and private settings. He was fortunate to have had instruction from the best weavers in Alaska and British Columbia. William started teaching cedar bark weaving in 1994, traveling to outlying villages on the coast to give instruction, as well as various venues in Alaska and Prince Rupert. In the summer of 1996 there was an exhibition devoted to his weaving at the Museum of Northern British Columbia, including both cedar bark and Raven's Tail pieces. During the exhibit he also demonstrated weaving. Raven's Tail weaving then became his focus, which challenged him as a weaver. Through this process he gained valuable experience in the Raven's Tail technique, and met one of his long-term goals: he made the first Tsimshian Raven's Tail robe since European contact (woven at the Museum of Northern British Columbia). White also weaves chilkat-style regalia: aprons, leggings, bags, and headdresses. In 2002 he began his first gwishalaayt robe at MOA, in the context of the exhibit, "My Ancestors Are Still Dancing". In 2004, White was the only Tsimshian person weaving in the chilkat style, which he was teaching to a Tsimshian apprentice Pearl Innes and Haida apprentice Sherri Dick.

Born: 1960-03-21