Ki-Ke-In

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Ki-Ke-In, born February 11, 1948, in British Columbia, Canada, is a Nuu-chah-nulth cultural figure from the Hupacasath First Nation. He is also known as Chuuchkamalthnii, Haa'yuups, and Ron Hamilton. Ki-Ke-In works in sculpture, drawings, paintings, dance, song, writing, regalia, and curation to document the ceremonial life of his people. He lives in Port Alberni, British Columbia. His exhibition at the University of British Columbia, featuring both his own work and historical Nuu-chah-nulth ceremonial curtains, was part of the 2010 Vancouver Cultural Olympiad. A fisherman by trade, he uses Campbell River slate, wood, silver, gold, and ivory, often drawing on sea-serpent imagery. In 2006, he spent a month with the National Museum of the American Indian, writing artifact descriptions, contributing to an exhibit book, and singing an ancient ciquaa (prayer chant) in his language to the artifacts. In 2018, he was named co-curator of a multi-year project to restore and conserve a section highlighting First Nations cultures of the Pacific Northwest at the American Museum of Natural History. Ki-Ke-In is a noted Canadian artist and cultural guardian.