CULTURAL GROUP:
Kwakwaka'wakw/Coast Salish

BORN:
March 21, 1966

BIRTHPLACE:
North Vancouver, BC

Klatle-Bhi (pronounced “Klath-Bay”) means Head Killer of a Pod of Whales. He spent two years apprenticing under Kwakwaka’wakw artist Simon Dick. Beginning at a young age, Klatle-Bhi was surrounded by the Kwakwaka’wakw culture of mask dancing, singing and potlatching. Currently he has played an important role in the revival of canoe journeys. Klatle-Bhi has been influenced by many prominent artists such as Beau Dick, Wayne Alfred, Wade Baker and Rick Harry. His work can be found in various galleries and private collections in Vancouver, Toronto, Washington, New York, California, and Spain. In preparation for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Vancouver, Klatle-Bhi was commissioned by Petro-Canada to carve a 25-foot pole. The finished pole was raised in Vancouver, BC, for the 2010 Games. After the Games, the pole was moved to Petro-Canada’s headquarters in Calgary, AB. In 2014, Klatle-Bhi started producing and distributing smoked salmon around British Columbia under the name Best Salmon Ever. In 2018, he visited the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute for three weeks as part of the World Indigenous Business Forum and learned Māori design from Eugene Kara and Stacy Gordine.