Frances Dick

Born in 1959 into the musqamakw Dzawadaenuxw Band of Kingcome Inlet, Francis Dick is a member of the Kwakwaka'wakw. She is a descendant of the supernatural Wolf, Kawadelekala who became first of the Kingcome people. Most of her work contains images of Kawadelekala, acknowledging her contemporary ties to her cultural past. Francis says that "Before anything else my work is about honoring my life process, my journey, through my fires, from places of pain and darkness to places that I might stand in my truth; my work is not a career, it is a way of life." Francis offers drum-making workshops and is frequently requested to speak for various community organizations, women's groups, as well as university classes. Although her primary forms of artistic expression have been through her paintings, prints, and singing, she also works with gold and silver, and does some work with wood. Francis produced carvings in Alert Bay for several years, working with her first cousin Beau Dick, as well as Bruce Alfred and Fah Ambers. Francis' career as a social worker was short-lived. She realized her work was honoring her gifts, where she is in her element. This has expanded into a newfound love for writing and performing. She wrote and produced a ceremony performance entitled "Wiwoma: Honoring the Spirit of Women," which opened to a sold-out audience at the Newcome Theatre in Victoria in June 1992. Due to ongoing praise and request, Wiwoma has been preformed twice since it's opening. In October 1994 Francis was initiated into the highest-ranking society in her nation, the hamat'sa. Francis presently lives in Victoria, working with her creative expression as her way of life.