DANIEL MORSETTE
Heritage
- Suquamish, Sto:lo, Chippewa, Cree
Daniel was born in 1987 and grew up in Suquamish,
Washington. His mother is from the Suquamish Nation
and has Sto:lo and Squamish Nation ancestors while
his father is Chippewa/Cree.
Daniel always feels a strong tie to his culture as
he was immersed in it from early childhood. At the
age of 15, under the apprenticeship of Kalpulk, Ray
Natrall, he started carving cedar canoes. His
community only had fibreglass canoes and he wanted
to return to traditional ways. In total Daniel has
worked on eight canoes, all before the age of 20.
Working on the canoes was a great accomplishment for
Daniel and his Nation but he felt there was still
much to learn and began carving paddles and making
drums – all necessary attributes for the tribal
journeys which have had such a strong influence on
Daniel’s life.
Daniel now lives in North Vancouver, British
Columbia and has changed his focus to carving masks
and is apprenticing under the watchful eye of
Klatle-Bhi of the Squamish Nation. He is surrounded
by carvers who are constantly challenging and
encouraging him to make the most of his talents. His
art has been growing rapidly thanks to these
teachers and his commitment and dedication to his
work.