Two days up-Island
A somewhat fleeting trip up-Island to explore Alert Bay and attend the T'sasala Cultural Group's final public performance of the season. There was a lot to see in that brief time.
We made our way up, first along the Island Highway, then shifted to the Inland Island Highway to avoid the traffic of Courtenay and Campbell River. Past Campbell River the highway narrows, and there are many signs warning drivers of elk and other wildlife on the highway. We didn't see any elk, and the highway was, for the most part, sparsely travelled. It appeared as though the tourist season is waning.
I had misread the ferry schedule from Port McNeill to Alert Bay, but as is often the case, the ferry itself was running late.
We were able to spend time at the dock, where we admired the view across Broughton Strait of Mount Waddington and the Coast Range.
We were also impressed by the drinking fountain along the quay, which accommodates both humans and dogs.
Arriving in Alert Bay, we found our accommodation easily (it's a small town and the directions were quite clear). The exterior is modest,
but the accommodation was clean, quiet and comfortable. It also had a fine view.
We settled in, and agreed to take a look at the Ecological Park. We walked part of the path, but didn't get to the marsh and boardwalk because the light was fading. Still, the setting and the vegetation were well worth a visit, and we're hoping to come back again and spend more time.
Meanwhile, very big deer fern--
--and many culturally modified trees. It looked as though bark had been gathered recently.
There are some very big cedars that must be ancient.
We had never seen this plant before.
On consulting Pojar and MacKinnon, we think it's false azalea. The hairy leaves are a bit puzzling.
This was a new moss to us: Plagiothecium undulatum (Buckiella undulata), wavy-leaved cotton moss. (Identification from Pojar & Mackinnon and consultation with Terry Taylor of Arrowsmith Naturalists)
As the evening advanced, the treetops were illuminated. This cedar snag gleamed, rising above the other trees of the forest.
Promising ourselves a return visit next year, we left the park.
Just past our accommodation was the old 'Namgis burial ground. Signs ask visitors to respect the site and only view it from the road. The sinking sun highlighted the poles.
We found a very fine restaurant. After a superb dinner, we returned to our lodging, ready for an early night.
I sneaked out early the following morning for a short walk along the shore while the other two were still snoozing. The RCMP had their boats moored nearby.
A kingfisher sat on the dock, scanning the water for a possible breakfast.
A man arrived in a quite fancy zodiac, carrying a camera with a magnificent lens. Two otters swam up and teased him, waiting until he lifted his camera, and then diving quickly. As I watched, he didn't get a shot. Such is the way of nature photography at times...
I had an easier subject--a cluster of sea anemones and other marine life on one of the pilings. They stayed put. (If you can, click on this photo to enlarge it--the assortment of marine critters is striking.)
Returning to our lodgings, I found my friends up and stirring. Breakfast was very good coffee (unusually good for that provided by hotels) and a substantial muffin.
Then on to the U'mista Centre. The mandate of the U’mista Cultural Society is to ensure the survival of all aspects of the cultural heritage of the Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw.
As a permanent collection, the building in Alert Bay houses a collection of potlatch items restored to the Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw after their confiscation during the time the potlatch was outlawed. Other displays describe the residential schools, memorialising elders who contributed to the survival of the nation,
and travelling exhibits that change annually.
This is a door taken from St. Michael's Residential School, which stood near where the U'mista Centre is now.
Outside the Centre an additional memorial stands. An accumulation of skulls lies beneath the image of the school, which was demolished in 2015.
In the U'mista Centre, visitors are asked not to photograph the potlatch display, but an abundance of books, websites, and other material make the cultural content available and portable. The bookstore and gift shop are very well stocked. I find the bookstore rather dangerous--there's so much in there to learn from.
We spent the morning at the Centre, and agreed that we could have spent far more time, but we had scheduled a visit to the 'Namgis Big House, which was hosting its final cultural presentation of the season.
The Big House is impressive. It is used for a variety of functions, including potlatches, cultural events open to the general public, and administrative meetings of the 'Namgis and Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw people. It seats approximately 1500 people, and is built in traditional fashion.
The floor is sand; a cedar fire burns in its centre.
At either end of the hall is an arch representing the Sisiutl--a double- headed sea serpent regarded as a powerful mediator between the human and spirit worlds.
It is supported by totems on each end and in turn supports the roof beams of the House.
A Thunderbird sits atop the beam at the stage end of the House.
The T'sasala (trans. "determined") Group is committed to the preservation of Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw culture, in particular its transmission to the children of their nation. Children are introduced to dance and story at a very early age!
Little Cecilia was present cuddled with her mother, quiet and attentive throughout the hour and a half of the performance. She actually held the eagle feathers quite carefully. Her grandmother and big sister join her and her mom in this photo.
Andrea Cranmer was the speaker at this event, explaining what we were seeing. She spoke of the history of her people, and of its traditions. The dances began with a selection from the T'seka--the red cedar bark ceremony.
The Hamatsa society retains very high status among the Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw. Dancers in the society enact the story of the Hamatsa, a member of the community that becomes possessed by Baxwbakwalanuksiwe’ the man-eating supernatural being. The dance acts out the capture, return, and calming of the initiate.
The presentation of the Hamatsa varies from community to community. The version that we saw included two very young, very skilled Hamatsa dancers, and two young women whose role was to tame the possessed Hamatsa and bring him back to their village.
It was a very powerful dance, and impressive to see it so skillfully presented by young performers.
In view of the structure and balance of the wooden mask, the Raven dance must be challenging physically. Because the mask limits the dancers vision, an assistant accompanies the dancer.
The moves in the dance are a striking imitation of those of the bird.
The Salmon dance was prefaced by Andrea Cranmer's commentary on the 'Namgis' battle against open net salmon farming. Salmon have been a vital part of 'Namgis culture since time immemorial. The nation has succeeded in reducing the number of open net farms, which research has in turn linked with a reduction of sea lice and an increase in salmon numbers.
The T'sasala group have been gifted with carved salmon by the Lummi Nation from Washington State. Two of the elder women participated in the Salmon dance bearing the salmon carvings from the Lummi.
One of the final events was a "gift dance," in which recipients were taken out of the Big House and returned, changed, to represent the land and the sea.
Initially, the recipients were splendidly arrayed, with ermine head-dresses.
The land change was into a masked creature called a Bekwa--small, shy, and always ravenous, who hides in the forest.
...unfortunately, I've lost the name of the sea monster.
The event ended with a "friendly dance," in which the audience is invited to participate. Two of us did. I'm so very much not a dancer, but I thoroughly enjoy dancing in a ring around the fire.
I had urged my friends to come along to see this event and all else that Alert Bay offers. I think they were not disappointed. We headed back to the ferry, crossed back to Port McNeill, and made our way back to Parksville. We agreed that it had been a fine couple of days.
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