CULTURAL GROUP:
Kwakwaka'wakw

BORN:
1968

BIRTHPLACE:
Alert Bay, BC

Stephen Bruce is from the Namgis Tribe of the Kwakwaka'wakw Nation. He began his career as a wood carver at the age of eighteen. Stephen trained with local carvers, including Kwakwaka'wakw artists Beau Dick and Wayne Alfred. At an early age, Stephen gained a reputation for completing monumental commissions. He has completed an 18-foot totem pole for the Mitsui Corporation in Tokyo, and he was Head Carver for the model Kwakwaka'wakw Village in Holland's Dolfinarium Theme Park. Stephen was one of eight carvers selected to help design and build the ceremonial longhouse in Alert Bay, BC. He also created three poles near the U’mista Cultural Centre housefront. In 1995, he was commissioned to design and carve a 10-foot Supernatural Halibut pole for the Namgis First Nation Cemetery near Alert Bay. In recent years, Stephen has begun to create jewellery.