This sculpture of a shaman with a Raven spirit helper is carved in a piece of whalebone from a section of skull from a bowhead whale. This piece is unusual in that I often depict the Raven as a creator image as opposed to the subservient spirit helper. For some families he is a guardian spirit. In Alaska and Siberia he is a god of creation who cannot be named directly but must be spoken of indirectly or in the abstract.
