The cemetery at Alert Bay holds many a cultural treasure. Perhaps foremost is this totem pole representing a thunderbird and a Dzunukwa or Wild-Woman-of-the-Woods. It was carved in 1931 by the master artist Willie Seaweed. Too good for any museum, this pole remains in cultural context, continuing, as intended, to memorialize a departed chief.
Cultural context and continuity were a major part of our experience at Alert Bay. This island town is the cultural nexus of the Kwakwaka'wakw people. We saw dances that were not a performance by actors, but the practice of people devoted to the maintenance of ceremonial ways. And the huge bighouse where they danced was filled minutes later by hundreds of people attending a traditional feast. Few visitors can find a more authentic experience.Like this old pole, traditional culture persists on the Northwest Coast, linking a rich past to an inspiring future. We rare visitors are gratified witnesses.
