Richard Hunt

Who is Richard Hunt?

Richard Hunt is a Canadian First Nations artist from the Kwakwaka'wakw nation of coastal British Columbia.

He was born in 1951 at Alert Bay, B.C., but has lived most of his life in Victoria, B.C. On his father's side, he is a descendant of the renowned Native ethnologist George Hunt. He began carving at the age of thirteen and in 1973 began carving with his father Henry Hunt at Thunderbird Park at the British Columbia Provincial Museum in Victoria.

Richard's maternal grandfather was the artist Mungo Martin, and his brothers Tony and Stanley Hunt are also carvers.

He designed the medals for the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships held Aug. 17-21, 2006 at Saanich Commonwealth Place.

Among his other projects, he repainted the totem pole at Rideau Hall which his grandfather Mungo Martin had given to Governor General Lord Alexander in 1946.

In 1991, he was inducted into the Order of British Columbia. He is also a member of the Order of Canada.

He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Victoria in 2004. He was made a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.