Tribal Affiliation: Shuswap/ Stlitlimx
Ed Archie NoiseCat grew up in British Columbia’s remote, mountainous interior with his mother’s people, the Canim Lake Band of Shuswap Indians. He draws inspiration from his mother’s plateau culture, and from his father’s people, the Stlitlimx, closer to the coast. He draws on the stories of his ancestors to create innovative images executed with extraordinary craftsmanship.
NoiseCat loves to work on a grand scale. He took the top prize at Portland’s first annual Indian Art Northwest market with a freestanding, six-foot square carved cedar screen. He won a major Midwest public art commission with a four-foot high portrait mask honoring Little Crow, one of the regions great chiefs. He also works on a smaller scale carving masks, rattles, panels, puppets and more. Many pieces incorporate transformational elements. He recently introduced two new lines of work: sculptural jewelry in silver, gold and semi-precious stones; and art furniture that joins the structural forms of the Northwest longhouse with traditional Japanese woodworking techniques.
NoiseCat graduated from the prestigious Emily Carr College of Art and Design, where he studied printmaking. In 1986 he headed to New York to work as a fineart lithographer at print shops including world-renowned Tyler Graphics. In the decade that followed, he lived in Boston, Minneapolis, Miami and Oakland. He now resides in Santa Fe.
Make No Bones About It 