Sterling silver, 1 7/8" wide, hand carved by Liam Baker (Squamish / Kwak'waka'wakw).
Mother bears care for their cubs for 2 to 3 years. They teach their cubs which berries and roots to eat. And how to fish and hunt. They train them in which plants to eat when they’re sick and which to rub against when injured. They fiercely protect them. A mother grizzly bear will charge with intent to attack when she sees a human near her cub. A black bear will initially retreat or send her cubs up a tree when she feels a threat. In Indigenous cultures they represent motherhood and the matrilineal system.
The Bear Mother story is foundational up and down the west coast. A young woman disrespects some young bears so is seized and taken to the bears’ village. Within their village in the forest, bears take off their fur coats and look similar to humans. The woman worked her way into the bear chief’s favour and married one of his sons. She had twin children that were part bear and part human. She and her sons eventually return to her human village bringing back spiritual gifts and property. This story teaches about the beginning of the Indigenous bear clan.
Haida - Bears are thought of and treated as relatives, and as beings like us with a spirit and soul but with different outward appearance.
Kwak’waka’wkaw - In dances at potlatches, the grizzly bear’s function is to maintain protocol. When someone creates offence, the bear feigns attack to keep the community safe and preserve tradition law.
Coast Salish - The bear is a guardian spirit at winter dances. Bears are teachers of herbalism. The black bears in Coast Salish territory are gentle if treated with respect. Indigenous people and bears have shared territory since time immemorial.
