Wil Uks T'aa Medik
Cape Chacon, Devilfish Bag, 2017

Mangyepsa Gyipaayg (Kandi McGilton)
Tsimshian

Mangyepsa Gyipaayg is a Tsimshian artist inspired by her heritage. Growing up in Metlakatla, a small fishing village on Annette Island, during a time of cultural resurgence, has inspired her pursuit and preservation of traditional activities. She is a self-taught beader and emerging basket weaver.

Mangyepsa Gyipaayg created this bag over the course of a semester teaching high school students how to sew and bead in the Annette Island School District. Inspiration came from 2017's seaweed harvest. Wil Uks T'aa Medik (Cape Chacon) is located on the southern tip of Tàan (Prince of Wales Island) across Clarence Strait from Annette Island, an area used for harvesting seaweed and other subsistence foods like herring eggs and mussels. The beads create a seaweed motif. As the artist explains, "On the Pacific Northwest Coast, seaweed is called black gold, which immediately made me compare it to the European ideals of being rich and the compared values between our peoples. Purple was the color of royalty because it was a hard color to dye."

Purchase of this artwork has been made possible through the generous support of the Rasmuson Foundation Art Acquisition Fund.
Ketchikan Museums, KM 2018.2.7.1