Bill Kuhnley Sr. is a well-known non-Indigenous carver who has been making model totem poles in and around the Seattle area for the last several decades. Kuhnley Sr. married into the Williams family of Ditidaht carvers and began carving in their style in the late 1960s. His poles reflect the Williams style with their deeply carved design elements, brightly painted colours, and prominently carved teeth. William Kuhnley Jr. (Ditidaht, b. 1967), his son, is a renowned First Nations artist who apprenticed with Haida artist Robert Davidson (b. 1946) and frequently sold pieces through the Spirit Wrestler Gallery of Vancouver. This model pole features a diving eagle over an inverted killer whale and is painted in green, red, blue, and black paints.

Christopher W. Smith