Our guest artist for October is Dennis Shorty. Dennis is a musician, master carver, knowledge keeper and teller of traditional Kaska stories passed down orally from generation to generation.

Born of Kaska indigenous heritage, Dennis has lived most of his life near Ross River, Yukon. By watching his grandfather and father carve traditional tools and toys, he became interested in art. For him, making art is a spiritual path and a way to communicate with his ancestors.

After a difficult period in residential schools during the ‘60s and ‘70s when the Canadian government tried to assimilate Indigenous peoples and wipe out their culture, Dennis has led a strong personal mission to revive his cultural heritage.