Haida Gwai Friday

Haida Gwai Friday

Seven hours of good seas and sunshine on the Northern Adventure were easy to take. 5:00 saw us docking at Skidigate, Haida Gwai our final destination on our trip. 

With only 800 residents, and obviously not many houses, it took us only about five minutes to find the house we had rented in advance.  It was owned by Jeff, a long time resident of the area. He had added on a small suite to an already existing house to allow for three separate apartment-like residences, located a short block from the ocean with a view. After unpacking, dinner, and a small walk along the beach, we were ready for the sack and looking forward to our adventures tomorrow. 

Friday saw us visit the incredible culture center downtown. A half a dozen long houses are situated on a shallow ocean point, overlooking several islands in this protected bay--truly beautiful setting.

Admission was $16 per person. Each building has focus on that particular aspect of the haida culture and history. Also Each of 6 long houses had a unique Totempole placed in front of them. Our guide gave us an enlightning insight into the stories behind each of the polls.  Each pole usually represents the story of a specific clan and traditionally is put up to indicate the history of the clan and celebrate a Potlatch held by the chief.  Each long-house is a very big, well constructed building. It has large cedar posts that support enormous rafters, with a roof that peaks at about 20 ft inside. Each roof has a removable vent to allow smoke to escape from the indoor heating and cooking fire. Architecture of these buildings is amazing and often a work of art with gigantic totem poles sometimes acting as the main supporting posts. The enormous natural cedar beams and rafters also add the the charm of the structure. The cedar wood splits so perfectly that some roofs are made from hand split shakes that could be 12 inches wide, nearly 1 inch thick and sometimes 6 ft or more long!

There are numerous clans within the culture, such as the raven clan, bear, Eagle, etc,  with each Clan represented by and important animal. Traditionally clans are matriarchal focussed, like we saw in Alaska , but a male chief is  stiljl the head figure.  Relationships with the different clans are usually positive, and I guess they have to be as Chiefs will not allow people in the same clan  to marry, you have to marry outside of your clan. This is a tradition that  carries on even today.

Because food was in abundance with fish, berries and game, the residents had ample time to devote to artistic endeavors.  This included creating garments, baskets, buildings and even weapons that were not only practical, but beautiful.  Modern day Craftsman-artists like the late Bill Reid have introduced the world to the beauty of their work to a point that Haida art is now an international simbol of our country and sought out by collectors around the world. This also has the effect of making it exceedingly pricy, with small baskets and carved argelite figures fetching thousand of dollars and totem poles in excess of $100,000! 

Very large handcrafted cedar ocean-going canoes are also an important part of Haida culture. These canoes were know to travel the 70 miles across the dangerous Hecate straight to the mainland. Here they traded such things as dried fish and berries and even copper for products produced by mainland first nations tribes. They were also known to explore and even colonize desirable areas as far south as Northern California. With a population of over 30,000 before white men arrived, they also put war parties together and occasionally would raid mainland tribes and even take slaves back to their island. 

The geological history of the area is also very interesting. 15,000 years ago during the last glacial age the ocean shoreline was 150 meters LOWER than today!  Over the next 5,000 years as sea levels steadily rose to a point where they were 15 meters higher than today! History has the ancestors of the Haida arriving here at least 10,000 years ago. 

The most disrupting events to the Haida occurred with the coming of the explorers and fur traders starting in the late 1700's. Small pox, chicken pox, other diseases and alcohol almost annihilated their numbers. By the early 1900's they were reduced from 30,000 to a mere 600 people. At this time the government of Canada tried to obliterate their culture by forcing children into residential schools, and banning use of their language as well as cultural activities. However that last 30 years has seen a robust resurrection of their population, cultural identity and language to a point where the people have regained their pride and confidence. This is evident everywhere throughout the islands. 

Next was a short drive up island to Port Clement at the base of Masset inlet. A great little logging museum captured our attention with numerous outdoor displays on a well-kept grassy lawn area and a wonderfully appointed little building with displays. 

Then it was on to a large nearby river which was a major salmon tributary. We actually helped one native and his friends haul in an ancient oversized row boat, nets and his disappointing catch of 5 sockeye. Quite the characters and fun to talk to as we participated in the "gong show" of loading a boat onto a rusty flat deck trailer with six of us and a broken down tow rope straining to the limits, what with the old boat being waterlogged and burdened with far too much water in the hull. 

It was one of those rivers where except for a couple of fisherman, time is its only visitor, with trees, roots and moss outlining the slow meandering riverbed. Truly a place that we had described to us as "therapeutic" by the residents. Also this location was the former sight of the legendary  Golden Spruce.  This tree met its sad demise when a wako environmentalist cut it down in protest to the island logging practices--go figure that one out!!! 

...back home to see Pittsburg lose its chance to win the Stanley cup. 

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