CULTURAL GROUP:
Gitksan

BORN:
1957 (d. August 2021)

BIRTHPLACE:
Kispiox, BC

Charles, known as Ya'Ya, trained at the Gitanmaax School of Northwest Coast Indian Art at K’san Village between 1977 and 1979. He also studied and worked with his uncle, Chief Walter Harris, OC. Ya'Ya taught at the K’san School of Art after graduating in 1979. In 1984, he began a two-year apprenticeship with acclaimed Haida artist, Robert Davidson, in Vancouver. He has carved poles with Robert Davidson, such as Three Watchmen, now outside of the National Gallery of Gallery, Ottawa. His major exhibitions include Sacred Circles in 1977, and the Vancouver Art Gallery's Topographies in 1996. In 2005, Ya'Ya was featured in the Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation 2 exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York. His work is sold around the world.