TORONTO STAR
HAIDA GWAII, B.C.—“Sometimes you feel insignificant, but then you walk on these lands and it lifts you up. You realize everything is connected and that you are as important to the planet as is it to you,” says master basket-weaver April Churchill Davis.
Davis gingerly glides her dainty fingers over a spruce branch as she intertwines the history of basket-weaving with that of Haida Gwaii, a remote archipelago on the north coast of British Columbia. The strength and longevity of the spruce interwoven into goods used by the Haida people symbolizes that of the islands and their indigenous inhabitants, both of which have been brought back to life after near depletion.
Once you step foot on these islands — like Prince William, Kate and their kids just did — you sense a spirit that lifts you and transplants you back in time. They’re blanketed with lush, mossy, enchanted forests, white sandy beaches that stretch for miles with nary a soul to be seen and totem poles that tell tales for days.
To a time as far back as possibly 13,000 years ago, when natives first inhabited these islands and developed a culture deeply connected to the land and sea.
These people became the Haida, a linguistically distinct group with a complex class and rank system consisting of two main tribal clans: Eagles and Ravens.
The Haida expanded their population through a cross-lineal marriage system between the clans. They built longhouses and carved totem poles to signify their lineage as they developed a rich culture within the more than 100 island villages they occupied.
“These villages were exceptionally vibrant before contact was made,” says Jag Brown, a Haida Gwaii native who leads cultural tours.
As you meander around the islands, which somehow feel sacred, you hear and read the term “contact” repeatedly. In 1774, Haida Gwaii was visited by the first European, Juan Perez, at Langara Island, and then in 1778 by James Cook. At the time of colonial contact, the population was roughly 10,000 people.
Bundled up in gear fit for the Arctic to guard against the chilly wind, a few 21st-century lay explorers and I hop into a zodiac to cross the choppy Pacific Ocean waters.
We depart from one of Haida’s main cities, Old Massett, for Tanu, a now uninhabited island, save for watchmen and women stationed here to ensure ruins and artifacts are not removed from the island.
Brown stands before the site of a former longhouse nestled between giant spruce and cedar trees.
He explains that almost 90 per cent of the population died during the 1800s from smallpox and other diseases such as typhoid, measles and syphilis. By 1900, about 300-350 people remained. Villages were abandoned and colonizers took over. Haida Gwaii, which means “islands of the people,” a former British colony, was once referred to as the Queen Charlotte Islands. And as we all sadly know, that foreign invasion brought with it war, brutality and residential schools.
“Although this longhouse site taught us much about our past life, it’s just one symbol of what things used to be like here,” says Brown.
On that note, we take to the sea again. The zodiac bounces over the mighty ocean swells until we reach the island of SGang Gwaay, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Here, in Ninstints, a now-abandoned village, stands the largest collection of Haida totem poles in their original locations, as well as the remains of large cedar long houses and hand-carved mortuary and memorial poles, which illustrate the art and way of life of the Haida.
“Things really were thriving before the invaders and residential schools came in,” says the spirited Joelle Rabu, who manages the beautiful Haida House at Tlell lodge.
“The legacy of that is a reality that has been hurting us badly. After the invaders came, we were not allowed to raise totem poles or practise our culture or language. It numbed entire generations and the kids now don’t understand who they are, but the Haida are lucky, they are getting things together and through arts and language, we are starting to recover.”
Oral tradition is necessary here to recover and preserve Haida culture.
As I listen to elders tell their tales of totem poles, longhouses, basket-weaving and carvings on these remote lands, sorrow sweeps over me, but the spirit of the people and lands gives me hope for their future. These emotions overwhelm me almost as much as the beauty of this sacred place. Charmaine Noronha was hosted by Destination British Columbia and its partners, which didn’t review or approve this story.