David Robert Boxley (born July 27, 1981), also known as D. Robert Boxley, is an Alaskan Tsimshian artist and totem-pole carver from the

Tsimshian The Tsimshian (; tsi, Ts’msyan or Tsm'syen) are an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Their communities are mostly in coastal British Columbia in Terrace and Prince Rupert, and Metlakatla, Alaska on Annette Island, the only ...

community of

Metlakatla, Alaska Metlakatla (; Tsimshian: ''Maxłakxaała'' or ''Wil uks t’aa mediik''; Lingít: ''Tàakw.àani'') is a census-designated place (CDP) on Annette Island in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the popul ...

. He is the son of the carver

David A. Boxley David A. Boxley (born 1952) is an American artist from the Tsimshian tribe in Alaska, most known for his prolific creation of Totem Poles and other Tsimshian artworks. Boxley was raised in Metlakatla, Alaska, home to many Tsimshian people. His w ...

, his mentor. His mother, Elizabeth, is non-Native, but was adopted into the Tsimshian

Laxsgiik The Laxsgiik (variously spelled) is the name for the Eagle "clan" (phratry) in the language of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and southeast Alaska. It is considered analogous or identical to identically named groups among the nei ...

(Eagle clan). His former Tsimshian name was Lapaaygm xsgyiik, which means "He Who Flies Like the Eagle" in the

Tsimshian language The Tsimshianic languages are a family of languages spoken in northwestern British Columbia and in Southeast Alaska on Annette Island and Ketchikan. All Tsimshianic languages are endangered, some with only around 400 speakers. Only around 2,170 ...

. In 1999 he, along with his brother, Zach, was adopted into the Laxgyibuu (Wolf Clan), House of T'ałm Ha'ax, by Doreen Nathan, his father's aunt. This was done to correct his Eagle clan affiliation since he had to have an opposite clan from his father, David A. Boxley. (Tsimshian Indians follow the matrilineal tradition of most Northwest Coast tribes.) He was given the name Gyibaawm laxha, which means "Wolf of the Sky". This was to honor his new clan, but also to pay homage to his former clan, the Laxsgyiik (Eagle clan). By the 1980s he was living with his parents and brother Zachary in

Kingston, Washington Kingston (formerly Appletree Cove) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,099 at the 2010 census. Kingston is along the shores of Appletree Cove and ...

. Since 2000, he has carved twenty five totem poles with his father and on his own. His first solo totem pole was made in 2005.

Sources

* Hoyt-Goldsmith, Diane (1990) ''Totem Pole.'' New York: Holiday House. * Hoyt-Goldsmith, Diane (1997) ''Potlatch: A Tsimshian Celebration.'' New York: Holiday House.

External links

David R. Boxley's Web site
1981 births 21st-century Alaska Native people Artists from Alaska Living people Native American woodcarvers Totem pole carvers People from Prince of Wales–Hyder Census Area, Alaska 21st-century Native American artists 21st-century American artists Tsimshian people {{Alaska-bio-stub