Kushtaka Dolls

Kushtaka Doll 2018 Mixed media 14.5 x 7 x 4 inches

Kushtaka Dolls is a new series of work created in late 2018 and was shown for the very first time at the American Indian Arts Marketplace. The Kushtaka Dolls are inspired by the legend of Kushtaka or Kooshdakhaa ( lit. “land otter man”) “mythical shape-shifting creatures found in the folklore of the Tlingit and Tsimshian peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America”.. (more on Wikipedia). Being a scary creature, “it was used by Tlingit mothers to keep their children from wandering close to the ocean by themselves”, and Corey herself remembers this from her childhood.