Francis Dick

Cultural Background: Musqamakw Dzawadaenutw Band, Kwakwaka 'wakw Nation “Creating art honours my journey through my fires so that I might stand in truth; my work is not a career, it is a way of life.”

Born in 1959 into the Musqamakw Dzawadaenutw Band (the four tribes of Kingcome Inlet), Francis Dick is a contemporary aboriginal artist and a member of the Kwakwaka 'wakw Nation. She is a descendant of the supernatural Wolf, Kawadelekala, who became the first of the Kingcome people. Francis began her career as a social worker after receiving her degree from the University of Victoria, but quickly realized that her true calling in life was to honor her natural artistic talents.

Francis Dick's first aboriginal painting, Kawadelekala, was created, then published as a way to honor her grandmother's life and spirit after her death in December of 1985. Four months later, her youngest brother Jesse took his own life. She created her second aboriginal painting as a way to acknowledge her love and honor for her brother. The pain of losing Jesse took her to a doorway where her journey of self-discovery began through her northwest coast art.