Work of Squamish artist graces millennium coin

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A design created by artist Wade Stephen Baker is featured on the newest coin in the Royal Canadian Mint's Millennium coin series.

The design, entitled "The Ties That Bind," is featured on the August 2000 quarter, officially launched by the mint Aug. 1 at the Squamish Nation Recreation Centre.

The coin features a circular double wolf design, with the two wolves coming face-to-face and tails touching.

Baker, a Vancouver-born artist, designed the coin as a tribute to family. Baker said the double wolf design symbolizes "family, togetherness, and the commitment of two souls to bring a child into the world."

"I wanted to create a design that would promote healthy togetherness, commitment and integrity in family relationships," he said.

The design of the coin was inspired by an ancient family crest. Baker's mother, Emily Baker, is a hereditary chief of the Kwakiutl First Nation. His late father, Daniel Baker, was a Squamish Nation councillor and honorary chief. A self-taught artist, Baker was exposed to traditional art at a young age, watching family members and master carvers Mungo Martin and Henry Hunt at work.

Baker lives in North Vancouver with his wife and daughter, where he designs totem poles, masks, drums, paintings and logos.

The coin is the eighth in a series of 12 being released by the mint in celebration of the millennium.