Prince Rupert, British Columbia
It’s a quiet sleepy Sunday morning in this northern port town- a few fishing boats ply the harbor and the corner coffee shop is open-wonderfully, the early chill and grey overcast soon open up into a glorious blue sky, bright fall day and we are off to visit the Museum of Northern British Columbia. After a fine, short walk up the hill, we are greeted at the museum by several young guides, all members of a Coast Tsimshian First Nations band. They share artifacts and stories of their ten thousand year history here, on the Northwest coast, and offer a glimpse of a different way to order one’s life. A life that revolves around oral history and song, dance and story inherited through one’s clan.
Once seated with our own new clans of Eagle, Wolf and Killer Whale in the red cedar Bighouse, we are given a look at the world viewed through the window of the Potlatch ceremony. The elaborate story/dances begin with beautifully carved masks and colorful regalia, and offer an explanation for the supernatural connection with the clan animal that they represent. Great respect is given to the witnesses, and the dances are followed by a treat of sweetened, whipped cloudberry and gifts of dried local seaweed and photos of the dance group. The passion for their rich heritage and dedication of this small dance group are evident throughout their presentation.
This afternoon we continue our southbound passage though the great waterways of British Columbia, following in the wake of the cedar canoes that have paddled among these islands for thousands of years.
