CULTURAL GROUP:
Mi'kmaq (Nova Scotia)

BORN:
April 16, 1970

BIRTHPLACE:
Nova Scotia

Derek is a self-taught artist from the Mi'kmaq Nation in Eastern Canada. He has been studying Canadian Aboriginal art from a very young age, and he started carving in 1997. As a young man, Derek moved to the West Coast, and was highly influenced by the late Kwakwaka'wakw artist, Willie Seaweed. Derek received permission from the Seaweed family to learn from the considerable legacy of work that Willie left behind. Derek has also trained with Tom Paul and Clifford George. In 2007, Derek had one of his talking sticks donated to Stanford's Cantor Arts Center. He currently resides in White Rock, BC.