Artwork copyright Robert Stauffer. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Box of Starlight Drum, 1992

Robert Stauffer
American (born 1953)

Location: Pioneer Valley Elementary, Spanaway

About the Artwork

Non-Native artist Rob Stauffer’s Box of Starlight Drum is hand-made and hand-painted. Many elements of the artwork are based on traditions from the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Stauffer notes, "Based on the popular story how Raven tricks a chief out of three boxes containing the sun, moon, and stars, this drum captures the moment the third box of starlight is opened, releasing the stars into the heavens. The design on the box shown on the drum is that of Raven, part human and part bird. The overall effect of the entire design is a 'Copper' shape, or shield, representative of wealth and high status."

The box designs are based on Indigenous Northwest Coast curved and ovoid formline designs. The subject matter is from Northwest Coast oral history. Stauffer made the drum by steam-bending a plank of cedar and wrapping it with stretched deer hide.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Bethel School District.

About the Artist

Robert Stauffer is a Northwest artist whose art focuses on the Native American artistic traditions of the Pacific Northwest Coast. He is a non-Native artist. Stauffer learned to carve after studying with Native American artists at Tillicum Village on Blake Island, in Puget Sound, Western Washington.