Ohito Ashoona
Ohito was the winner of the 2002 National Aboriginal Achievement Award. He has had a very close relationship with nature, having spent all of his formative years living not in a settlement or community, but at an outpost camp. Here, he lived the traditional Inuit lifestyle in every sense of the word. Although there were short visits to town for buying supplies, for all intents and purposes he lived and subsisted entirely off the land: fishing, and hunting for seals, walrus, whales, and caribou. By his early teens, Ohito's destiny was set: he would be an artist like his father (Kaka Ashoona), his grandmother (Pitseolak Ashoona) and others that had gone before him. Unlike many of his peers, Ohito never ceased to nourish his Arctic roots. He would soon become one of the best hunters in the community and a fully certified outfitting guide. His love and respect for his culture, the environment and Arctic animals is very apparent in his work and all of his works are creative and his themes optimistic. Life, however, was not always wonderful in the Arctic -- it was a very cruel and harsh existence in one of the most inhospitable environments in the world. His ability to portray things so beautifully speaks of his nature and personality.
Visit Ohito's homepage to learn more about his work and discover what original Ashoona carvings are available.
