First Nations artist Roy Henry Vickers of Hazelton, B.C., was nominated for a Grammy Award.
Vickers, along with Doran Tyson and Lisa Glines was nominated for the presentation box he developed for the Grateful Dead presentation boxed set. Tyson and Glines work for Rhino Records, and they worked with Roy on the set. The trio were all nominated for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package. Other nominations included Guns N’ Roses and “Weird Al” Yankovic boxed sets. At the ceremony in Los Angeles, Yankovic won the award.
It was Vickers’ decision to house the collection in a replica bentwood box, a traditional item that was used as a treasure chest by First Nations people and played a key role in potlatch ceremonies. “In our culture, the potlatch is pre-eminent,” said Vickers, in a previous interview. “And in the beginning of the potlatch, it’s all about honouring the dead. Those who have gone before, the ancestors, they are the grateful dead…”
“When I did the work for the Grateful Dead, it was a three-year project, and when the presentation box came out, I thought that it was one of the highlights of my entire life as an artist,” Vickers said.
Vickers, a member of the Order of Canada, has enjoyed a long and successful career (44 years and counting), which has garnered the artist international acclaim.
Collectors are gobsmacked to discover that in the cowboy world, he graciously creates the Kispiox Rodeo poster each year from his Roy Henry Vickers Gallery in Tofino, B.C.