Bruce Cook

Bruce Cook, III is an acclaimed Haida artist who creates sculptures, silk-screen prints, carved masks, canoes and painted drums. Bruce began his artistic training under the guidance of his uncle, Warren Peele, a master artist in the Village of Hydaburg, Alaska. Many members of his lineage are artists.

Bruce is an accomplished dancer and singer with the Haida Heritage Dancers, a Haida Dance group that was formed in Seattle to keep the Haida culture strong. Bruce designed and created much of the dance regalia for the group including masks, drums, and leather dance capes. Bruce recognizes the importance of song and dance to Haida culture. In 1996, he worked with Shaun Peterson on the Return of the Story Pole, a monumental 36-foot totem pole for the Puyallup tribe. The Legacy Gallery also commissioned a 20-foot Haida canoe for their show in 1998. Bruce was then commissioned to do a 15-foot pole and the interior decoration for the Islandwood complex, on Bainbridge Island, Washington.