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• Kwakwaka'wakw artist
• British Columbia, Canada
• 1900
• Wood, paint, cotton, metal, leather
• Museum Purchase from the University of Washington, 1953.404

Killer whales are abundant in the waters of Kwakwaka’wakw and have long been a forceful element within Kwakwaka’wakw mythology. The Kwakwaka’wakw believe that killer whales live in a great house out towards the open sea, a four-day journey away. People who see its house will receive supernatural power and the right to use the killer whale as their crest. The tail, side fins, and mouth of the killer whale mask are constructed to move. This particular mask also includes a blow hole through which eagle down can be expelled to simulate a whale’s spouting. Killer whale masks usually appear at a potlach ceremony. The word "potlatch" means "to give". The potlatch ceremony marks important occasions in the lives of the Kwakwaka'wakw: the naming of children, marriage, transferring rights and privileges and mourning the dead.