Gerry Marks is a Canadian First Nations artist of Haida ancestry.

He grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia, the grandson of John Marks, a Haida artist.

Marks studied with the Haida carver Freda Diesing

Freda Diesing

Freda Diesing was one of very few female carvers of Northwest Coast totem poles and a member of the Haida First Nation of British Columbia, Canada....

 in Prince Rupert, B.C.

Prince Rupert, British Columbia

Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and home to some 12,815 people .-History:...

, starting in 1971 and later studied at Hazelton, B.C.

Hazelton, British Columbia

Hazelton is a small town located at the junction of the Bulkley and Skeena Rivers in northern British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 1866 and has a population of 293...

In 1977 Marks and Francis Williams carved a 25-foot totem pole

Totem pole

Totem poles are monumental sculptures carved from large trees, mostly Western Red Cedar, by cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America...

 in Masset

Masset, British Columbia

Masset , formerly Massett, is a village in Haida Gwaii in British Columbia, Canada. It is located on the northern coast of Graham Island, the largest island in the archipelago, and is approximately west of mainland British Columbia. It is the western terminus of the Yellowhead Highway...

, his ancestral Haida village on the Queen Charlotte Islands

Queen Charlotte Islands

Haida Gwaii , formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Haida Gwaii consists of two main islands: Graham Island in the north, and Moresby Island in the south, along with approximately 150 smaller islands with a total landmass of...

.

Sources

• Macnair, Peter L., Alan L. Hoover, and Kevin Neary (1984) The Legacy: Tradition and Innovation in Northwest Coast Indian Art. Vancouver, B.C.: Douglas & McIntyre.