Alert Bay and Johnstone Strait, British Columbia
An emblazoned totemic orca with embedded animal forms hangs in greeting to arriving ferry passengers at Alert Bay, “Home of the Killer Whale”. The Sea Bird docked near striking memorial totem poles of the ‘Namgis First Nation, as these Kwakwaka’wakw locals are known. This small island settlement near the north end of Vancouver Island maintains a deep Pacific Northwest cultural legacy that we explored today.
We walked the waterfront to the U’mista Cultural Centre, an extraordinary museum housing a collection of dance regalia only recently repatriated to Alert Bay. Eighty years ago tribal ancestors were arrested for performing ceremonial dances at a native potlatch. (Potlaches are traditional multi-day gatherings hosted to validate important life and death events and tribal rights before invited witnesses who are paid with elaborate gifts.) Original ceremonial masks confiscated by Canadian officials in 1922 have been returned from various museums and are proudly on display at Alert Bay. The spirits of the living and mythological creatures danced with these masks could be felt in the haunting museum room they were housed.
Pacific Northwest coast native peoples live an interwoven history with the natural world around them. A notable animal in the culture frequently seen in summer pursuing salmon in these waters is Killer Whale. Just down Johnstone Strait from Alert Bay, “Home of the Killer Whale”, we came upon cluster after cluster of blows and dark fins in the wind-chopped water before us. A multitude of killer whales were spread out across the channel. Locals might consider the whales celebrating a potlatch of their own. “Resident” fish-eating killer whale families will gather in late summer, socializing in aggregations known as “superpods”. Before us today were intermingling members of the A5, A8, A12, A24, C10, G, I15, I31,R and W pods of the “Northern Resident Community” – more than 120 individuals estimated present!!
One might consider that we human guardians have been taking away some of the whales’ traditional ceremonial rights with habitat degradation, overfishing, introduced toxins, increased vessel traffic and noise pollution. However, with increased understanding and conservation ethics, we are repatriating the whales’ rights by establishing protected marine parks like Robson Bight Ecological Reserve where we watched the whales today, as well as enacting other conservation measures to protect the animals and preserve their own living cultural history.
An emblazoned totemic orca with embedded animal forms hangs in greeting to arriving ferry passengers at Alert Bay, “Home of the Killer Whale”. The Sea Bird docked near striking memorial totem poles of the ‘Namgis First Nation, as these Kwakwaka’wakw locals are known. This small island settlement near the north end of Vancouver Island maintains a deep Pacific Northwest cultural legacy that we explored today.
We walked the waterfront to the U’mista Cultural Centre, an extraordinary museum housing a collection of dance regalia only recently repatriated to Alert Bay. Eighty years ago tribal ancestors were arrested for performing ceremonial dances at a native potlatch. (Potlaches are traditional multi-day gatherings hosted to validate important life and death events and tribal rights before invited witnesses who are paid with elaborate gifts.) Original ceremonial masks confiscated by Canadian officials in 1922 have been returned from various museums and are proudly on display at Alert Bay. The spirits of the living and mythological creatures danced with these masks could be felt in the haunting museum room they were housed.
Pacific Northwest coast native peoples live an interwoven history with the natural world around them. A notable animal in the culture frequently seen in summer pursuing salmon in these waters is Killer Whale. Just down Johnstone Strait from Alert Bay, “Home of the Killer Whale”, we came upon cluster after cluster of blows and dark fins in the wind-chopped water before us. A multitude of killer whales were spread out across the channel. Locals might consider the whales celebrating a potlatch of their own. “Resident” fish-eating killer whale families will gather in late summer, socializing in aggregations known as “superpods”. Before us today were intermingling members of the A5, A8, A12, A24, C10, G, I15, I31,R and W pods of the “Northern Resident Community” – more than 120 individuals estimated present!!
One might consider that we human guardians have been taking away some of the whales’ traditional ceremonial rights with habitat degradation, overfishing, introduced toxins, increased vessel traffic and noise pollution. However, with increased understanding and conservation ethics, we are repatriating the whales’ rights by establishing protected marine parks like Robson Bight Ecological Reserve where we watched the whales today, as well as enacting other conservation measures to protect the animals and preserve their own living cultural history.
