Sunrise this morning found National Geographic Sea Lion entering an inlet off of Cormorant Island; moving slowly in the fog, the “underway” fog horn sounded from the Alert Bay ferry as the two ships passed port to port. Sea Lion continued, slowly on approach to the government dock at the south end of the small community of Alert Bay. As soon as our ship was secured to the dock and the main gangway was lowered, a small band of intrepid photographers disembarked, making their way to the Namgis burial grounds located just across the street from the dock. The fog and mists of the morning curled around memorial poles, hillsides and the waterfront of Alert Bay, creating magical early morning fall light for all! Photographers took every advantage, pointing in all directions seeking just the right point to capture an image and express a moment seen, as the light changed dramatically second by second.
Sea Lion was docked about one mile from our first stop of the morning. Many of our group took advantage of a chance to have a morning walk along the waterfront, enjoying the quiet village of Alert Bay as it awoke to the day. Alert Bay was established in 1870 as a cannery town where people came from near and far to work the harvest of salmon. It is also the cultural and band council center for the Kwakwaka’wakw First Nation. Our walk this morning was to the U’mista Cultural Center. Opened in 1980, this museum houses one of the finest collections of elaborately carved masks, depicting the Potlatch Ceremony of the Kwakwaka’wakw. These pieces were taken by the Canadian government during a raid on a Potlatch given in 1921 on Village Island. Never forgotten, the Kwakwaka’wakw of Alert Bay continued petitioning to have their regalia returned. A condition was offered by the Canadian Government: “If you build a museum to house your treasures, your regalia will be returned.”
In earlier days, people were sometimes taken captive by raiding parties. When they returned to their homes, either through payment of ransom or by retaliatory raid, they were said to have “u’mista.” The return of regalia which are treasures to the Kwakwaka’wakw is a form if u’mista and has been celebrated ever since by First Nations up and down the British Columbia Coast. We were honored today by not only seeing the Cranmer Potlatch Collection, but also being guided through the pieces by Lillian Hunt a lifetime First Nations resident of Alert Bay and tied by family to the pieces she spoke about. Lillian wove stories of origin and gave meaning and subtle nuances to each piece, as she carefully walked through the collection which is housed as it would be exhibited during a potlatch.
We divided into two groups, giving each half time to enjoy the remainder of the museum’s exhibits, the gift shop filled with original Northwest Coast art from Alert Bay and watch a short video that captured the essence of current potlatches and a theme we had encountered in many of the Indigenous communities we had visited this last two weeks. The lives of people within Native and First Nations communities from the Tlingit of Alaska in the north, south through Tsimshian, and the Haida of British Columbia, view the world from an unusual vantage point. Part of their world is in the physical world and part is in the spiritual world. It is a life where balance between those two critically important places finds a meeting point.
Our next stop, in the late morning, authenticated this idea through a wonderful invitation to the Big House by the T”sasala Cultural Group. Children are considered the greatest resource by all Indigenous peoples and this group of young people would give us the opportunity to experience Kwakwaka’wakw culture through their young eyes. For the next hour we watched, listened, and danced with a dedicated group of elders, parents, adults and children who were there to share not only their culture and heritage but their joy at being who they are on a tiny island in a beautiful part of British Columbia, and a stronghold of the Namgis Clan of the Kwakwaka’wakw.
After a small feast of freshly barbecued sockeye salmon, banoc and homemade jam, it was time to make the mile-long return walk to Sea Lion. The fog had lifted, the sun was shining and it was time to continue our journey south. The afternoon was warm, the bow filled with many a watchful eye as skeins of wispy clouds floated in the sky; far too light to bring anything more than another fabulous sunset followed by evening stars and a sailors delight, the sign of a gorgeous sunrise on the following day...
