Alert Bay & Johnstone Strait, British Columbia
Alert Bay harbour slowly apparates out of the mists of time and the fogs of the Pacific Northwest coastal rainforest. Poles of carved western red cedar still stand as sentries along the street that fronts the shoreline. House styles have changed, but the village still faces the sea, from whence friends, food and foes-as well as the ferry from Vancouver Island, arrive.
U’mista Cultural Center welcomes us warmly as old friends do, and our guide Lillian Hunt tells the story of the captivating Potlatch Collection, a group of beautifully carved cedar masks and other regalia that were confiscated from a potlatch held on Village Island in 1921 by Chief Dan Cranmer. His direct descendent Bill Cranmer, is the hereditary and elected chief of Alert Bay today. U’mista Cultural Center is the heart of the Kwak’wak’a’wak nation, made up of fourteen bands of Kwakiutl speaking people. Yesterday we passed by the picturesque village of Klemtu, one of the remote villages that is part of this nation, tucked between two islands along the inside passage. Alert Bay is also home to a remarkable number of master carvers and their apprentices, as well as many other fine artists. During our morning ashore, we witnessed a new memorial pole in the cemetery, and saw a pole in progress on the beach.
Up the hill at the impressive big house, we watched the young cultural group perform some of the dances that illustrate a part of this unusual culture. The drumming and singing, brightly colored button blankets and intricate regalia bring home the message that here in Alert Bay traditional ways will continue to inform the people of who they are at a deep level.
Just a few miles down the channel, we encountered one of the most revered and ‘supernatural’ beings of this area. A large pod of orca, or killer whales were working the wild currents between the islands and hunting for fish. Out on the sun-drenched decks, we watched with awe as large males from this group of toothed whales dove and surfaced, turned and dove again; sometimes coming toward the ship and surfacing just under the bow. We deployed our hydrophone and listened to the plaintive calls of these glorious black and white wonders, the wolves of the sea. Johnstone Strait is one of the areas known for these special largest of the dolphins, and we were exceptionally fortunate in our sighting today.
Alert Bay harbour slowly apparates out of the mists of time and the fogs of the Pacific Northwest coastal rainforest. Poles of carved western red cedar still stand as sentries along the street that fronts the shoreline. House styles have changed, but the village still faces the sea, from whence friends, food and foes-as well as the ferry from Vancouver Island, arrive.
U’mista Cultural Center welcomes us warmly as old friends do, and our guide Lillian Hunt tells the story of the captivating Potlatch Collection, a group of beautifully carved cedar masks and other regalia that were confiscated from a potlatch held on Village Island in 1921 by Chief Dan Cranmer. His direct descendent Bill Cranmer, is the hereditary and elected chief of Alert Bay today. U’mista Cultural Center is the heart of the Kwak’wak’a’wak nation, made up of fourteen bands of Kwakiutl speaking people. Yesterday we passed by the picturesque village of Klemtu, one of the remote villages that is part of this nation, tucked between two islands along the inside passage. Alert Bay is also home to a remarkable number of master carvers and their apprentices, as well as many other fine artists. During our morning ashore, we witnessed a new memorial pole in the cemetery, and saw a pole in progress on the beach.
Up the hill at the impressive big house, we watched the young cultural group perform some of the dances that illustrate a part of this unusual culture. The drumming and singing, brightly colored button blankets and intricate regalia bring home the message that here in Alert Bay traditional ways will continue to inform the people of who they are at a deep level.
Just a few miles down the channel, we encountered one of the most revered and ‘supernatural’ beings of this area. A large pod of orca, or killer whales were working the wild currents between the islands and hunting for fish. Out on the sun-drenched decks, we watched with awe as large males from this group of toothed whales dove and surfaced, turned and dove again; sometimes coming toward the ship and surfacing just under the bow. We deployed our hydrophone and listened to the plaintive calls of these glorious black and white wonders, the wolves of the sea. Johnstone Strait is one of the areas known for these special largest of the dolphins, and we were exceptionally fortunate in our sighting today.
