Lance Wilkie

(American | Makah, born 1955, died 2015)

Native American Makah artist Lance Wilkie (1955-2015) was a master carver who created artworks and canoes in the Coast Salish tradition. He was based in Neah Bay, on the Olympic Peninsula in Northwestern Washington.

After attending the University of Washington in Seattle from 1973-75, Wilkie worked at the Ozette excavation site in Neah Bay and as a fisheries technician for the Makah Tribe. He worked for the Makah Cultural and Research Center in Neah Bay to help preserve language and cultural traditions. Wilkie carved many canoes, including ones for the Canadian Canoe Museum and the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. He also constructed several traditional Coast Salish buildings, including a shed roof house for the Burke Museum in Seattle, a Salish longhouse for the Washington State Historical Society in Tacoma, and an outdoor longhouse at the Makah Cultural and Research Center in Neah Bay.