Walter Harris OC (June 10, 1931 – January 12, 2009), also known as Simogyet Geel, was a Canadian artist and hereditary chief from the Gitxsan (Gitksan) First Nation in northwestern British Columbia.
His two sons, Rodney and Richard, also pursued the carving tradition, working with him on several projects,[6] as did his sister Doreen Jensen.
[11] Other major commissions include a wood panel for the Canadian embassy in Paris and a limestone killer whale for the entry of to the House of Commons in Ottawa.
His work is also in the Vancouver International Airport, San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, Victoria Island in the Ottawa River, a Westar Sawmill office in Japan.
Other pieces include four large screens for the Royal Bank of Canada in Vancouver, a set of massive red cedar doors for UBC's Museum of Anthropology, totem poles in Rochester, New York, and Baltimore, Maryland, and a large killer whale carving for the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Macnair, Peter L., Alan L. Hoover, and Kevin Neary (1984) The Legacy: Tradition and Innovation in Northwest Coast Indian Art.