The Riverboat Days Committee is proud to announce Indigenous master carver and cultural educator Stan Bevan as the 2025 Riverboat Days Ambassador.
Bevan, of Tahltan, Tlingit, and Ts’msyen ancestry, has played a leading role in shaping Northwest B.C.’s art and cultural landscape for more than four decades. Born in 1961, he began his formal training at the Gitanmaax School of Northwest Coast Indian Art and later apprenticed with acclaimed carver Dempsey Bob.
Today, Bevan is widely regarded as one of Canada’s most influential Northwest Coast artists. He is a co-founder of the Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art at Coast Mountain College in Terrace—Canada’s first institution dedicated to Indigenous fine art—and has mentored generations of emerging artists.
His latest public work, Su-gigyet, was unveiled in July 2025 at the Thornhill roundabout. Meaning “new people” in Sm’algyax, it stands as a striking tribute to culture, community, and artistic innovation.
As this year’s Riverboat Days Ambassador, Stan Bevan represents the enduring strength of tradition, mentorship, and Indigenous cultural resurgence.
Riverboat Days celebrations begin this weekend in Terrace.
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