Virgil “Smoker” Marchand

The sculptor, Virgil “Smoker” Marchand, was given his Indian name “Spa Poole” which means smokey, or smoke in his language, by his grandmother. Smoker grew up in the Colville Eastside Reservation in Omak, Washington, and went to elementary school at St. Mary’s Mission. He ran away five times. It was Smoker’s brother that encouraged him to pursue his art. Eventually, Smoker attended The Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The immersion in this outstanding art school brought out something special in Smoker that he never knew was there. Smoker graduated from the Institute of American Indian Arts in 1971.