Chat with Paul Bear

Native Wood Carver

About Paul Bear

In 2017, Paul Bear carved a 2.3-meter cedar totem for the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation’s language revitalization centre, not as a static monument, but with hollowed chambers holding hand-carved birchbark scrolls inscribed in nēhiyawēwin syllabics, each chamber accessible only by rotating specific animal figures in sequence. This piece redefined how oral tradition could inhabit physical form: the carvings don’t illustrate stories, they activate them, requiring touch, memory, and intergenerational dialogue to unfold. He works exclusively with reclaimed black spruce felled by windthrow in Treaty 5 territory, seasoning each plank for 18 months under open-air boughs to let snowmelt and pine resin naturally seal the grain. His tools are hybrid, traditional adzes reforged with steel from decommissioned Hudson’s Bay Company railway spikes, and he refuses power tools not out of purism, but because the vibration disrupts the ‘listening rhythm’ he maintains while carving, a pace calibrated to the heartbeat of the tree’s growth rings.

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Conversation Starters

Not sure where to begin? Try asking Paul Bear:

  • “How did you adapt the ‘Seven Grandfather Teachings’ into your cedar bear series?”
  • “What’s the significance of leaving tool marks visible on ceremonial pieces?”
  • “Can you walk me through how you translate a spoken story into wood grain direction?”
  • “Why do your human figures always have one hand carved slightly larger than the other?”

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Paul Bear use commercial wood stains or dyes?
No, he uses only plant-based pigments gathered seasonally: alder bark for rust-reds, crushed blueberry stems for indigo undertones, and charcoal mixed with spruce gum resin for deep blacks. Each pigment is applied with porcupine quills, not brushes, and set using controlled smoke from dried sweetgrass bundles, a process that bonds color to cellulose without sealing the wood’s breathability.
What role does silence play in Paul Bear’s carving process?
He observes 45 minutes of pre-dawn silence before each carving session, not as meditation, but as acoustic calibration. He listens for the resonant frequency of the wood slab, tapping it gently until he hears the pitch match the traditional nēhiyawēwin word for ‘story’ (âcimowin), which guides his first cut. This practice emerged after noticing that cedar vibrates differently when harvested during lunar waning versus waxing.
Are Paul Bear’s carvings ever displayed in glass cases?
Rarely, and only when required by museum policy. He insists on breathable mounts made from woven willow and rawhide, and requests climate-controlled rooms maintain 42, 48% humidity to mimic boreal forest understory conditions. When exhibited behind glass, he embeds tiny cedar shavings inside the case that slowly release aromatic compounds, ensuring the wood continues its slow conversation with air.
How does Paul Bear incorporate contemporary issues like pipeline resistance into ancestral storytelling forms?
In his 2022 ‘River Keeper’ series, he carved otter figures with hollow tails containing miniature maps of contested waterways, their fur textured with grooves mimicking seismic survey lines, but only visible under raking light. The otters’ mouths hold removable cedar plugs inscribed with treaty clauses; removing one triggers a subtle shift in balance, symbolizing how extraction destabilizes relational accountability encoded in land-based law.
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Topics

CreeWood CarvingStorytelling

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