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says his family had little opportunity to spend their early years together as a family. However, despite the difficulties imposed on Pettman’s early life, many of the themes in his sculpture comprise motherhood, the family, the stages of life, and the joys and humour of being alive.


By the time Graham became a fulltime sculptor in 1981, few Cree artists were carving in stone. Unlike the prolific and very evident carvings of West Coast First Nations, Cree culture of the past seemingly lacked great evidence of carving. However, sculptor Stewart Steinhauer points out that the Cree word for ‘work’ is ‘atoskewin’. The noun ‘atos’ translates to ‘arrow’. Since arrows were originally carved out of stone, the original meaning for ‘work’ translates to ‘working in stone’. Steinhauer further points out that stone has a very specific meaning in Cree culture since it is thought to act as a communicator. For example, artisans have always carved bowls for pipes out of stone, evidence that stone plays a communication role in tobacco ceremonies. So by the late 1970s and early 80’s, when Graham and his brother Clifford, as well as other artists such as Lorne Fineday and Lloyd Pinay started carving in stone, they were simply continuing a tradition of carving that has always been present in Cree culture.


Name: Born:


Living in:


Graham Pettman 1938


Okanagan Valley Inspiration: Allan Hauser


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