SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Members of Canada's youngest indigenous carving tradition created art alongside members of the country's oldest indigenous carving tradition this summer.

Goota Ashoona participates in a traditional Haida dance on the beach. "Haida dancing is beautiful to watch – especially the kids," Goota said. "They move like animals – birds, black bear, wolf and killer whale." - photo courtesy of Joe Ashoona

With seals swimming in the bay, bald eagles soaring overhead and surrounded by towering cedar totem poles, the Ashoona family made their Inuit art in a Haida studio on the beaches of Haida Gwaii off the B.C. coast for four weeks in July and August.

In Yellowknife, Joe Ashoona, his mom Goota Ashoona and her husband Bob Kussy operate the Ashoona Family Studio on Franklin Avenue.

The family was invited to the West Coast by Guujaaw, president of the Council of the Haida Nation, and hosted by the Haida Gwaii Museum, located in the small island community of Skidegate, B.C.

The Inuit carvers worked in blue whale bone as the Haida carvers chiselled huge cedar wood sculpture.

Joe carved a polar bear in cedar, the material commonly used by Haida carvers, that he gave as a gift of thanks to the Haida Nation. It was the 21-year-old carver's first time working with wood.

"It's very different from what I'm used to," he said. "I put my own style into the wood, showing them what I can do. I think they saw it to be really different to what they're used to seeing. It's always neat to look at other styles of art from other parts of the world."

Throughout their stay, Joe and Goota collaborated on a carving titled Sedna's Journey to Haida Gwaii. They fashioned the mythical Inuit creature from a nine-foot-long blue whale bone and added caribou antler claws. The blue-green hue of the abalone shell inlay the artists used for the sculpture's eyes reminded Goota of the North.

"Abalone is kind of like the colour of the Northern lights," she said.

The family donated the monumental piece to the museum. It is now on display in the gallery threshold.

"I hadn't had a full appreciation for Inuit carving," said museum curator Kwiaahwah Jones. "To see them in action and to see the beautiful outcome was outstanding."

The Ashoonas spoke with clan chiefs, elders, fishermen and artists, including fifth-generation Haida carver Christian White and Marcel Russ, a student of the late master West coast carver, Bill Reid.

Goota also shared her skill as a throatsinger during the visit, performing solo on stage for the first time accompanied by a blues guitarist at a literary gathering in the community and again at a salmon feast.

"Goota is a phenomenal artist," Jones said. "The whole community really appreciated what they had to bring. They met with a lot of carvers and made a lot of neat connections. It was really quite a pleasant exchange and we're hoping that they'll come back to take part in our annual Edge of the World Music Festival next summer."

Kussy said he was thrilled to watch his son and his wife enjoy so many rich and fulfilling personal and professional experiences.

"It was just very, very cool," he said. "It shows that with a little support from the GNWT and the Canada Council for the Arts we can do amazing things in this country."

Joe and Goota's next journey will be to Indianapolis, Indiana, in October to participate in the artists in residence program at the Eiteljorg Museum.