A silver bracelet created by the late Tlingit carver George Lewis perhaps more than 23 years ago was recently returned to Lewis’ family, but the original owner of the bracelet remains a mystery.
Resident Jim Shook was fishing for Dolly Varden near the Chilkoot River bridge last summer when a flash in the water caught his eye. “I looked down between my feet and saw a glint of silver” embedded in the sand. He fished the intact bracelet out of the river. He said he’s been looking for the owner since.
Last week he showed the bracelet to Tlingit artist Nathan Jackson, who was visiting Haines from Ketchikan, and Jackson put him in touch with Lewis’ daughter, Georgiana Hotch. “I didn’t know she was George’s daughter,” said Shook, who brought the bracelet over to her the next day. “I know it went to the right place.”
George Lewis moved to Haines with his family in 1965. A boat builder and carver, Lewis was the father of eight children and etched silver bracelets for gift shops in Juneau to subsidize his income. He also worked with Alaska Indian Arts, mentoring younger carvers. Lewis died in 1995, and his daughter saved his carving tools to pass on to one of his grandsons.
Hotch believes the return of the bracelet is a communication from her father. Hotch’s sister, Barbara Lewis, passed away in February. “I think it’s my dad’s way of saying she’s been received and she is well,” said Hotch.
Hotch had never seen the bracelet before Shook gave it to her last week, and said she doesn’t know for whom it was made. It’s decorated with a distinctive design and has a date inscribed on the inside which may indicate the day it was carved, or a significant date for the owner.
Hotch says she will return the bracelet if the original owner comes forward and can describe the piece. If not, she plans to pass it down to someone in the family. “It’s such a treasure” to have a piece of her father, she said.