George Stokes, Squamish Nation. George began working as an artist in 1985, with encouragement from his uncle, Cody Mathias. In 1986, George was invited to help carve a totem pole with the late Bill Reid and established Haida carver Don Yeomans. This pole is now housed within Vancouver’s Kitsilano Secondary School.
In 2010, he graduated from the Northwest Coast Jewellery Arts program held at Vancouver’s Native Education College. While he has spent most of his career as a wood carver creating plaques, talking sticks, rattles and masks, he is beginning to expand into metalwork and giftware. For example, George has started transferring his original designs to clothing.