Frank G. Gist, Jr. (Yurok) was born in Willits, California, in 1954. At the age of four, he moved to Crescent City to live with his great-aunt Minnie Spott Macomber, who taught him about his cultural heritage. Also living with them for a time was Minnie's sister, Little Alice, and their mother, Alice Spott. Alice Spott was one of Albert Kroeber's principal Yurok consultants and the embodiment of aristocratic Yurok culture. Following studies at Oakland's Merritt College (1972-73), Frank served in the Army 82nd Airborne Division from 1975-79. His Army experience as a dental hygienist (1979-82) later came in handy when he turned to carving. On leaving the service in 1982 he settled in Sacramento, where he worked for the Urban Indian Health project for several years and then with the County of Sacramento as an Eligibility Worker for ADC, where he handles the cases of American Indian families.

   Self-taught as a carver, Gist works at his craft in the evenings and weekends. He has been making traditional Yurok objects since about 1982. His principal products are spoons and purses of elk antler, wooden mush paddles, pipes, and drums. Frank has demonstrated carving at the California State Indian Museum, Sacramento, the Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology, Berkeley, and at Pacific Western Traders in Folsom. He is featured in Carving Traditions of Northwest California by Ira Jacknis (Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology, 1995).