Reg Davidson, AOD

Masset, British Columbia
Haida

Reg Davidson is a master Haida Artist recognized for his numerous and significant contributions to protecting and advancing Haida culture. He is known for producing significant traditional ceremonial objects such as masks, bentwood drums and dance regalia. Reg, an accomplished dancer, has mentored and taught two generations of Haida children the importance of Haida language and traditional song and dance. As an avid fisherman, he has provided his elders with food while participating in ecological protection projects that help safeguard the abundance of sea life in Haida Gwaii. Reg’s carvings have been commissioned locally and internationally, and many can be viewed right in BC, including a large sculpture grouping of the Blind Halibut Fisherman at Vancouver International Airport. Over many decades of committed artistry, Reg at his studio, has trained, taught and employed many artists who live in and off Haida Gwaii. With no art schools in Haida Gwaii, Reg has become a necessary agent of artistic education for younger local artists. Reg’s most recent project is a memorial pole in dedication to the life of his nephew Ben Davidson.

In recognition of his extraordinary and sustained accomplishment in First Nations Art in BC, Reg was selected to receive the 2022 Award of Distinction. The award is presented to an  individual who has helped ensure that BC is a place filled with astonishing craft, with unique and immensely expressive power and continuous wonder. 

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What I’m doing now is full blown cultural things. I love what I’m doing, I’m being Haida. This is the way I want to live and this is who I am.

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