Ann Smith

In 1952 in the country near Whitehorse,Yukon, Ann Smith was born into a family of craftswomen and carvers who lived close to the land in their traditional region. Ann's mother was her first teacher in the traditional skills of tanning hides, beading and weaving. Ann went on to further her studies in the traditional Ravenstail and Chilkat weaving, first in Whitehorse then in Ketchican, Juneau and Victoria. At one point she studied with Cheryl Samuel before embarking on her triple career of weaver, teacher and politician. She was Chief of the Kwanlin Dun First Nation in Yukon before focusing exclusively on her weaving in the mid 1980s. Ann's Ravenstail weavings are found in several major private and public collections including UNESCO's Arctic Collection in New York and the Yukon Government permanent collection. Ann has been selected to represent Canada in several exhibitions of art of the northern regions.