CULTURAL GROUP:
Gitxsan

BORN:
July 12, 1948

BIRTHPLACE:
Port Edward, BC

Robert Jackson is the Hereditary Prince of the House of Haxbugwatxu, Fireweed Clan, in the Gitxsan Nation. He attended the Kitanmaax School of Northwest Coast art at Ksan. He has also taught himself how to carve by studying and copying old pieces of Gitxsan art. Robert's carvings are found in private collections in North America, Europe, and Japan. In 1974, Robert participated in the exhibition Canadian Indian Art at the Royal Ontario Museum. He also opened the Skyclan Art shop in Prince Rupert in 1979, which specialized in Northwest Coast art. The gallery closed in 1984, and Robert then returned to Hazelton. He began a six-year sabbatical from carving which ended when he made a trip to Texas, and met his future wife Hanna. She returned to Hazelton with Robert, and was overwhelmed by the art and history of the region.