“Every now and then this powerful character would come up from under the ocean and it usually signified that something cataclysmic was coming. The whalers or fishers would see this character coming up from the sea. The Sea Serpent, a protector of the Great Sea Chief, is one that we use as a headdress for our performances. 

When the Sea Chief appears, it usually means that he’s trying to warn us that something is coming for our world — a heat warning, earthquakes, tsunamis, wind, fires, the four elements.”