Native American or First Nations. The difference: the motherland and how each nation refers to its indigenous peoples. Out of respect for the aboriginal artist and the hard work they do in creating their art piece: whether it be baskets; carvings; beadwork, etc., I am disappointed to see most, if not all, the items up for auction being portrayed simply as Native American. I say this because I’ve witnessed a large quantity of items that were clearly signed by a Canadian artist who is aboriginal, merely listed as Native American. Please, when you are putting an item up for auction, study the history and out of respect for the artist, list the item correctly: Canadian First Peoples are referred to as First Nation and of course the American First Peoples are respectfully Native American.

On the B.C. coast, there are 6 main peoples. These groups were not tribes, as these people identified only with their village, as well as, perhaps one or two other ones.

So if you choose to mention the exact village origin, again do some research about that particular tribe. Not all are Coast Salish. There are Northern and Southern villages, thousands of miles apart. Northern Groups: Tlingit, Haida Gwaii and Tsimshian. Southern Groups:  Kwakiutl or Kwakwaka'wakh, Nootka or Nuu-Chah-Nulth, and Coast Salish.

I thank you for reading my guide on Aboriginal artwork and my narrative of description. I also hope that this enlightenment will help you in successfully auctioning your piece of aboriginal artwork. Good Luck.

If you found this helpful in preparing your description of your Native artwork or in the purchase of  a piece of Native artwork:

***PLEASE VOTE YES***     THANK YOU!!!

Your friend, genealogynahanee :)