After a rock-and-roll night crossing Hecate Strait from Prince Rupert the legendary archipelago of Haida Gwaii appeared on the horizon. Excitement is in the air as talk over breakfast. Linda Tollas, a Haida interpreter, boards our ship as soon as we dock. We climbed on busses and drove a few miles east to the Haida Heritage Center. This magnificent building opened in 2007 and is an eloquent testament of the revival of a population that was decimated by at least 90% by smallpox; then the culture that was almost obliterated by alien religions and residential schools.
We were met by Jason Alsop, who led us around the many totem poles outside the building and eloquently explained some of their fascinating carved features including how to tell a bear figure from a beaver, dog, fish, killer whale, sea monster, or mountain goat. Without a written language these images, both real and mythical, tell the story of the family history of a high-ranking person. Storytelling passed down through the ages helped to elucidate the historical connections.
Elsie Stewart-Burton led half of us around the many displays inside the building. Her enthusiasm for her culture was infectious, though most of us were thoroughly infected by then. She showed how beautiful Chilkat blankets and cedar root hats were made. Some of the oldest most beautiful poles in the building had been rescued from the elements and will now last far longer.
Back at the ship Linda gave a thorough and informative talk on her family’s lineage, medicinal plants, kinds of totem poles, and the struggle by Linda and the community to revive their language. She answered many questions so we are now primed for our next adventure tomorrow, the World Heritage Site of Ninstints.
