Sterling Silver Killer Whale (Orca) Signet Ring by Derek White (Haida)

Material: Sterling Silver

Dimensions:20mm x 13 mm (0.79 inch x 0.51 inch)

Sizing: This ring fits size 9. 

Design: 

• "A crest belonging to many different Haida Clans. Killer whale is a powerful being that lives in the Ocean realm is apart of many Haida stories." - Haida artist, Raven Thorgeirson.
• This design features a “Sgaana”, also known as orca or killer whale, which is a symbol of community, family & intelligence. Orcas travel the ocean realms in groups, further cementing their symbolism of community and togetherness. 
• It is believed that the killer whale people have an analogous society to humans under the ocean, and there is where the first totem poles & longhouses originated.
• In Haida mythology, there are many stories involving the underworld. One such story is called boy riding killer whale, which depicts a man who has to jump on the back of a killer whale to rescue his wife from the underworld. 

Made by Haida Artist, Derek White Sr. 

Derek White is a Haida carver who began carving in 1985. Derek has apprenticed with Master Carver Jim Hart and has worked on many large sculptures of wood and totem poles, including one of the six poles at the Haida Heritage Centre in Skidegate in 2001 and the Reconciliation Pole at the University of British Columbia in 2017. 

He belongs to a family of master carvers. Derek's brother is Haida artist, Christian White. They are the sons of the late Hereditary Chief of the Edinsu Eagle Clan of Kiusta, Morris White. Morris White’s father, Geoffrey White, was the grandson of the master Haida carver, Charles Edenshaw.