• CONNECTION TO BEST-SELLING BOOK AND ITS AUTHOR: The book features "K'iid K'iyaas," a series of 17 blankets that tell the life and death of the Golden Spruce sacred to the Haida, a 50-metre yellow tree which grew for an estimated 300 years until a non-Indigenous logger chopped it down in 1997. The tree's story was captured in John Vailant's best-selling non-fiction book The Golden Spruce (2005, 62,000 copies sold in the U.S.). Writing about Hazel Wilson's work, Vaillant drew analogies between Hazel's depictions of the Golden Spruce and the Tree of Life.
• UNIQUE ARTISTIC INFLUENCES: Wilson's work has also drawn comparison with Mexican folk art, and outsider art. Later in her career, traditional designs featured in her work evolved into images of both historical and contemporary events and revealed the influences of folk art and popular culture on Hazel's imagery. She also began to employ new and unexpected materials, ranging from sequins, crystals, and precious objects to patterned fabric and acrylic paint.
• ALIGNED WITH THE INDIGENOUS RECONCILIATION MOVEMENT: Hazel Wilson is a hero throughout the Northwest Coast, and well-known in the non-Indigenous world as well. A leading figure in the revival and recovery of Haida culture, her work was significant and important in many ways.
• AUTHORIZED: This work is produced with the approval and collaboration of key leaders in the Haida nation, like Nika Collison, and Hazel Wilson's family. Her gallery, the Kardosh Gallery (formerly Marion Scott Gallery) had full access to Wilson's work and knew her for decades.