Alert Bay, British Columbia
Today we all awoke to a classic rain forest sunrise, radiant light breaking between holes in the clouds. Clearly there was weather coming in, but for the moment we were surrounded by the shadowy shapes of islands and trees with wispy clouds lifting off of them. Shafts of sunlight illuminated select parts of the scene. The ocean was calm and the temperature remained mild as we navigated towards Alert Bay, our docking destination for the morning.
Alert Bay is a First Nation Village, now famous for its leading role in helping to recognize and reestablish the cultural presence of the Kwakwaka’wakw people through its political action. Wishing to reclaim their heritage, this village demanded that the Canadian government return to it precious artifacts once taken from them for museum display elsewhere. To house the returned collection, the village built the U’Mista Cultural Center and proudly placed the artifacts in the public view, using the cultural center’s presence within the village to spark a reawakening of their spiritual history and connectedness to the land which sustained them. I would have to say that in my 20 years of work in Alaska and among the cultures of the Pacific Northwest, I have never seen such a fine collection of masks and related potlach objects.
We were invited into the center to view these and treated to a series of beautiful dances, as well as given a knowledgeable lecture about the masks, the dances, and their meaning. Afterwards, we wandered through the village, a small park nearby and a spectacular display of totem poles near to the docking area. It was one of the most satisfying and least pretentious experiences of this kind that I have ever had. No sooner had we returned to the ship than the skies closed in and it began to rain. Welcome to the realm of the rain forest.
The rest of the afternoon was spent motoring northward as we continued our passage into the fJordlands of the largest coastal mountains in the world. The inclement weather bothered no one as the afternoon was filled with a slide lecture and many discussions about the morning’s unique experience. Just before dinner, another large school of Pacific white-sided dolphins surrounded us, jumping, splashing and bow-riding, and rather simultaneously, the clouds lifted to reveal heavily forested islands that were growing increasingly mountainous - all of this merely a teasing hint of what we will awaken to in the morning.
Today we all awoke to a classic rain forest sunrise, radiant light breaking between holes in the clouds. Clearly there was weather coming in, but for the moment we were surrounded by the shadowy shapes of islands and trees with wispy clouds lifting off of them. Shafts of sunlight illuminated select parts of the scene. The ocean was calm and the temperature remained mild as we navigated towards Alert Bay, our docking destination for the morning.
Alert Bay is a First Nation Village, now famous for its leading role in helping to recognize and reestablish the cultural presence of the Kwakwaka’wakw people through its political action. Wishing to reclaim their heritage, this village demanded that the Canadian government return to it precious artifacts once taken from them for museum display elsewhere. To house the returned collection, the village built the U’Mista Cultural Center and proudly placed the artifacts in the public view, using the cultural center’s presence within the village to spark a reawakening of their spiritual history and connectedness to the land which sustained them. I would have to say that in my 20 years of work in Alaska and among the cultures of the Pacific Northwest, I have never seen such a fine collection of masks and related potlach objects.
We were invited into the center to view these and treated to a series of beautiful dances, as well as given a knowledgeable lecture about the masks, the dances, and their meaning. Afterwards, we wandered through the village, a small park nearby and a spectacular display of totem poles near to the docking area. It was one of the most satisfying and least pretentious experiences of this kind that I have ever had. No sooner had we returned to the ship than the skies closed in and it began to rain. Welcome to the realm of the rain forest.
The rest of the afternoon was spent motoring northward as we continued our passage into the fJordlands of the largest coastal mountains in the world. The inclement weather bothered no one as the afternoon was filled with a slide lecture and many discussions about the morning’s unique experience. Just before dinner, another large school of Pacific white-sided dolphins surrounded us, jumping, splashing and bow-riding, and rather simultaneously, the clouds lifted to reveal heavily forested islands that were growing increasingly mountainous - all of this merely a teasing hint of what we will awaken to in the morning.
