Christopher Roy

Digital Director | Photographer | Carver


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Stories

Community, culture, gatherings, events and adventure photography + carving projects.

  • Potlatch for Migratory Salmon

    Hundreds of hereditary chiefs, matriarchs, fishing families, youth, Indigenous knowledge holders, and culture keepers—along with friends of migratory salmon, government representatives, scientists, and allies—gathered on Tseshaht and Hupačasath Territories for the Potlatch for Migratory Salmon. The event was hosted by…

  • Wayne Cartlidge Family Memorial Lunch

    It’s been two years since my good brother Gordon Dick’s father, Wayne Cartlidge, passed. To honour his memory, Gordon hosted a lunch for community members, family, and friends. He also gifted family members one of his remarkable carvings, along with…

  • ‘West Coast Slyod’ Style Carving Tools

    I’ve recently retooled my workspace to focus on carving more spoons and small greenwood kitchen tools—spatulas, chopsticks, and similar pieces. Projects at this scale keep my carving rhythm alive between larger projects like feast bowls, paddles, and canoes. To support…

  • 2025 Salt Spring Island Pride Parade

    The 2025 Salt Spring Island Pride Parade, hosted by DAISSI (Diverse and Inclusive Salt Spring Island), brought vibrancy, joy, and solidarity to the island community this September. The event filled Ganges with colour, music, and movement as hundreds of participants…

  • Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ House Pole Re-creation Project

    Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ community members re-creating a house pole with carving team led by Tlehpik Hjalmer Wenstob and family. The original 4-pole set of house poles had been removed from the community and installed in various locations and have finally been brought…

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    ‘Xwaaqw’um’ Re-launch of the Snuhwulh (Canoe)

    Seven years ago, I had the honour of working as an assistant carver alongside Tla-o-qui-aht Master Carver Tutakwisnapšiƛ Joe Martin and Lead Carver/Project Steward Joe Akerman to create a Coast Salish canoe. In the local Hul’qumi’num language, the word for…

  • 2025 Indigenous Peoples Weekend

    Beautiful gathering of culture and community with local Coast Salish, Hul’qumi’num and the SENĆOŦEN nations with Metis guests and settlers on Salt Spring Island.

  • Island Pathways Kids Bike Rally

    Island Pathways recently hosted their annual Kids Bike Rally at the Salt Spring Lions Commemorative Bike Park in Mouat’s Park on Salt Spring Island. Kids aged 3–16 and their parents/guardians had a sweet time learning new skills, getting tune-ups, scoring…

  • SȾÁUTW̱ First Nation Land Back Gathering

    Salt Spring Island Foundation gathering to celebrate the launch of the SȾÁUTW̱ (Tsawout) Land Back Campaign with community elders and settler supporters. This fundraising initiative is an opportunity for Salt Spring Islanders and visitors to give back to the SȾÁUTW̱…

  • 2025 Carving on the Edge Festival

    The biennial Carving on the Edge Festival celebrates the traditional and contemporary coastal carving arts and the rich cultural history of the region. The festival offers opportunities to gain a deeper understanding of the coastal traditions of carving with the…

  • 2024 Salt Spring Island Pride Parade

    The Salt Spring Pride Festival is a vibrant celebration where the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and their allies from both local and surrounding areas unite to revel in the rich diversity and inclusivity that define queer culture. This festival is more than…

  • Quinte ‘Dream Big, Saints’ Secondary School

    These are photos of the now former Quinte Secondary School (QSS) in Belleville, Ontario, as it was in the summer of 2024. Quinte was my first high school, and I’d only been back to the building a handful of times…

  • ‘Emerald Forest’ Feast Bowl

    I’d originally envisioned this piece as a lightning bowl. Lightning and thunder are very rare where I live now on the coast—unlike in Ontario, Canada, where I grew up. While I was first shaping this bowl, a few of those…

  • ‘Into the Corner’ Yew Laddle Shovels

    These mid-sized, asymmetrical ladle spoons are carved from Pacific Yew, using offcuts from a paddle-making project. Each spoon carries the unique grain and colour variations of the wood, revealing both strength and subtle elegance. Finished by hand with a blend…

  • ‘Wave Rider’ Alder Feast Bowl

    Inspired by my canoe work with Tutakwisnapšiƛ Joe Martin, I’ve started creating small feast bowls. Over the years, I’ve tried my hand at numerous—let’s call them creative—cultural and artistic expressions of carving. I’ve had the great honour of working alongside…

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    ‘Xwaaqw’um’ Snuhwulh Canoe Carving and Launch

    After nearly six months of dedicated work, the Xwaaqw’um Snuhwulh (canoe) was launched today, greeted with joy and pride by the many relations who gathered to celebrate. The launch was marked with dancing, songs, and ceremony led by local elder…

  • ‘Deadly Quiet’ Pair of Paddles

    Canoe paddles are a remarkable Indigenous technology. They are inherently simple in design—and like many things that appear simple, they are often complex to make. Well-crafted paddles are made for an individual. Their proportions are aligned with the dimensions of…

  • ‘Kestrel’ Custom Carving Tools

    Using the offcuts from my first paddle-making project with Carl Martin, I set out to make my first set of carving tools—custom-made and shaped to fit my hands. The blades are high-carbon steel from Kestrel Tools, and the handles are…

  • ‘Denoon’ First Chaputs Canoe

    During my first visit to the Carving on the Edge Festival, where I made my first yew wood paddle with Carl Martin, I also met Carl’s brother, Tutakwisnapšiƛ Joe Martin. Joe was an active carver, teacher, mentor to many, and…

  • ‘Wrestling with Yew’ First Paddle

    After several failed attempts to make what seemed like a simple paddle—and a chance encounter on a BC Ferry with legendary coastal carver Godfrey Stevens and a recommendation from my wife—I found myself at the Carving on the Edge Festival…