Carey Newman

Dr. Hayalthkin’geme Carey Newman is a multi-disciplinary Indigenous artist, master carver, filmmaker, author and public speaker. 

Through his father, he is Kwakwaka'wakw from the Kukwakam, Gixsam, and Wawałaba’yi clans of northern Vancouver Island, and Coast Salish from Xwchíyò:m (Cheam) of the Stó:lō S'olh Temexw (traditional territories) along the upper Fraser Valley. On his mother’s side of the family, his ancestry comes from English, Irish and Scottish settlers. 

In his artistic practice, Newman strives to highlight Indigenous, social and environmental issues as he examines the impacts of colonialism and capitalism, harnessing the power of material truth to unearth memory and trigger the necessary emotion to drive positive change. Although he works with contemporary materials and issues, he is careful to adhere to cultural values, finding ways to innovate without disregarding tradition.

Newman was selected as the master carver of the Cowichan 2008 Spirit Pole, a journey that saw him travel the province of BC sharing the experience of carving a 20-foot totem with more than 11,000 people. Chosen from a national call for the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, Newman’s Dancing Wind is installed in the Athlete’s Village.

The Witness Blanket, one of his most influential pieces of work, made from objects and memories gathered from residential schools, churches, government buildings, and cultural structures and woven together in the form of a blanket, deals with the subject of Truth and Reconciliation. Newman notes that “…left alone, these pieces may be forgotten, lost, buried, or worse—be uncomfortable reminders that leave painful impressions on the minds and hearts of those who recognize what they represent. Individually, they are paragraphs of a disappearing narrative. Together, they are strong and formidable, collectively recounting for future generations the true story of loss, strength, reconciliation, and pride.”

The Witness Blanket is also the subject of a companion documentary, called Picking up the Pieces, written and co-directed by Newman, that premiered at the 2018 Vancouver International Film Festival. In 2019, The Witness Blanket was placed into the collection at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights under an innovative shared stewardship agreement, which recognizes the legal rights of the blanket and the stories it carries.

Recent works include an interactive art installation in Cedar Hill Park in Saanich, BC called Earth Drums encouraging people to change their relationship with the land from one of ownership to one of stewardship, the  “Hearts-on Hands-on” Totem Project at Oaklands Elementary School that brought students closer to Indigenous culture through collaborative art, and All My Relations, installed at Royal Roads University’s Dogwood Auditorium, which features laser cut stainless steel panels depicting the entire cycle of life: land, air, water and sprit world.  

Newman was awarded the Extending Reconciliation award by Leadership Victoria in 2020, the Order of British Columbia in 2018 and the Government of Canada’s Meritorious Service Medal in 2017. He is the Impact Chair of Indigenous Art Practices at the University of Victoria and serves on the Board of Directors for Pacific Opera, a role for which he was recognized with the 2022 National Opera Directors Award.