Last week in Edmonton: "Learning from Canadians".

Alberta's North Central Teachers’ Convention was held last week around the theme, 'Learning from Canadians'.

The speakers included some of the country's most recognized celebrities including Broadcaster Ian Hanomansing, Peacemaker Romeo Dallaire, the Father of the Canadian Encyclopedia Mel Hurtig, and the always eloquent voice of our original peoples, Artist Roy Vickers.

Since being honoured with the Order of Canada two years ago, Roy Henry Vickers has become much in demand as a public speaker - one capable of expressing his pride in the land of the past and his hope for the union of the future.

Though generally regarded as an artist of the First Nations, Vickers is actually a link between two cultures.

His father was a fisherman with the blood of three north-west coast First Nations — Tsimshian, Haida and Heiltsuk — flowing in his veins. His mother, however, was a schoolteacher whose parents had immigrated to Canada from England.

This unusual mixed heritage has had a strong influence on Vickers' art, producing work that fuses traditional First Nations style with expressive influences from other cultures.

Roy Henry Vickers was born in June 1946 in the village of Greenville, in northern British Columbia. He studied art and design at the Gitanmaax School of Northwest Coast Indian Art in Hazelton. and has stayed on the northwest coast of BC ever since.



These days, you can find his work displayed at the Eagle Aerie Gallery, a traditional northwest coast longhouse Roy built in 1986 in the village of Tofino and online at www.royhenryvickers.com