Cruising The Broughtons, British Columbia: Alert Bay and Village Island

 Alert Bay, Cormorant Island 

 

 

 

One of the aspects of the The Broughtons that really interested us was its First Nations heritage. Alert Bay is located on Cormorant Island just off shore of Port McNeill on Vancouver Island. It is the site of the impressive U'mista Cultural Center and the 'Namgis cemetery.

 

Although Port McNeill is larger and more developed now, Alert Bay was originally the main location in this area for supplies. Cormorant Island was first named 'Namgis by the 'Namgis First Nation (FN) people. The 'Namgis used the island on a seasonal basis and as a place to bring their dead. The original 'Namgis cemetery is a prominent part of downtown Alert Bay.

 

In 1846 the island was renamed by Europeans after the cruiser H.M.S. Cormorant and the Bay was named after the H.M.S. Alert.

 

Today the community seems to be a happy mix of Caucasians and First Nation people.

 

The U'mista Cultural Center 

Traditional Big House, used for potlatches Alert Bay, British Columbia picture from: http://www.vancouverisland.com/general/details

The meaning of U'mista: In earlier days, people were sometimes taken captive by raiding parties. When they returned to their homes, either through payment of ransom or by a retaliatory raid, they were said to have "u'mista". The return of our treasures from distant museum is a form of u'mista and became the name chosen for the newly established Cultural Society because these masks, costumes and coppers are U'mista and, are a symbol of Kwakwaka'wakw cultural survival.



"Ever since the white people first came to our lands, we have been known as the Kwakkewlths by Indian Affairs or as the Kwakiutl by anthropologists. In fact we are the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw, people who speak Kwakʼwala, but who live in different places and have different names for our separate groups." http://umista.ca/kwakwakawakw/index.php


U'mista Cultural Centre is one of the longest-operating and most successful First Nations cultural facilities in BC, founded in 1980 as a ground breaking project to house potlatch artifacts which had been seized by government during an earlier period of cultural repression. The focus of the U'mista permanent collection is the "Potlatch Collection". The other permanent exhibits on display include descriptions of the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw origin stories of the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw villages, as well as, historical and contemporary Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw objects.The return of the potlatch artifacts not only provided U'mista's name ('the return of something important'), and sparked a general trend toward repatriation of First Nations and cultural artifacts, it caused the creation of a physical facility and human resources infrastructure which have been successfully operated for over two decades.
U'mista now operates a modern museum and cultural education facility in Alert Bay. Their operations include the museum, an extensive art gallery and gift shop, group tours, and presentations by dance troupes.

The meaning of Potlatch:

Potlatch: a strict law bids us to dance.

We dance to celebrate life, to show we are grateful for all our treasures. We must dance to show our history, since our history is always passed on in songs and dances. It is very important to tell the stories in exactly the same way. We put our stories into songs and into dances so they will not change. They will be told the same way every time. We use theatre and impressive masks to tell our ancestor’s adventures so the people witnessing the dance will remember it.

The ceremony to tell our stories and to show social changes such as birth, marriage, name giving, standing up a new chief and death is called a Potlatch. In the Chinook language it means ‘to give’. The people we invite are not only guests. They are also witnesses of our Potlatch and we give them presents for being a witness.  http://umista.ca/exhibits/index.php

 

We began our visit to the U'mista Cultural Center with a video of a Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw dance ceremony. It was incredible. It made what we were to see so much more interesting. The older masks and head dresses were smaller and it seems as though they have increased in size as materials became more available (or perhaps they just wanted them to be more impressive).

Killer Whale MaskPhotos were not allowed in the center so I am not able to do justice to the collection. I hope you get to see it one day. If you are interested you can view some of the collection on their website:
http:umista.ca .

  

 



 

 

The main street of Alert Bay runs infront of the original 'Namgis cemetery. As a show of respect people are not allow to walk in the cemetery; it must be viewed from the road.

 

 

Giant Halibut Man

Owl Woman
 

 

Once a totem is completed it isn't maintained. It isn't repainted or broken parts repaired. It is supposed to decompose and return to the earth along with the dead.

 

While we were anchored off of Alert Bay the community had an "around the island" kayak and canoe race. This First Nation canoe was on its way to the start line. I found the juxtaposition of the backward baseball caps at the front of the canoe and the traditional apparel in the stern amusing.



 

 This old building has been repurposed to a net loft.

 

Part of our view from our Alert Bay anchorage was this derilect building and float house (left) and a barge carring materials for a soon-to-be fish farm. There was the remains of a small aircraft on the pilings which looked more like junk storage than unfortunate landing.

Our last bit of fun at Alert Bay was watching the FN fishermen attempt to rescue one of their fishing boats that had recently sunk there. It was a real community event. After hours of line manipulation with a back hoe and a larger fishing boat they still hadn't made much progress. We left them to their work and set about pulling anchor.

Village Island, Southern Broughton Archipelago

I wanted to visit Village Island because of its First Nation heritage and we are always looking for places that provide walking trails. Village Island has a great history but it is now deserted and nature is reclaiming the land. The island is covered in dense vegetation and hiking was somewhat difficult.

 

 

 Islets emerging from the fog on the approach to Village Island

 

 

Village Island was once the home to the Mamalilikala (Mamalillaculla), an indigenous nation, a part of the Kwakwaka'wakw people. Their main village was 'Mimkwamlis. (I have no idea how this language was pronounced. Greg and I now have mastered Mamalillaculla, but that's it.)

 

The last resident left in 1976 after having been unsuccessful in trying to encourage the tribe to reestablish residence on Village Island.

 

 



Our anchorage off of Village Island



 

 

The shore at mid low tide.

The remains of the dock at Village Island

 



 

The beginning of the trail across the island to the village of Mimkwamlis.

 

 

 

Forty years without maintenance has reduced this once very nice home to an example of nature reclaiming her own. The roof was covered in growth and will eventually collapse.

 

 

Beautiful lichen on the trees looked like black oak leaves.

 

 

 

Once we made it to the site of the village we encountered other visitors. One was a native woman who had returned to the island to play her flute. We didn't speak but she smiled as I walked past her. The others were a group of fellows who had visited the island many times and were kind enough to point out the way to the remaining artifacts.

 

 

The "bear trail" to the old village. Can you see Greg? At one point I told him to go ahead. Bad decision. I lost him completely. At one point I saw a small hole and tried to step over it but still managed to fall into it, ripping my finger tips terribly as they slid down the berry vines. I was a bloody mess by the time I found Greg. 



Thimble berry, morning glories and other plants that had been cultivated were growing over everything. I harvested some wonderful mint and its now growing on the boat.



Thimble berry





Morning Glory





Currants

 

The last house to be occupied on Village Island, with the old washing machine sitting on the porch. Adjacent to the house was what remained of the long house - the big pole entrance, now sporting a small forest along its length.





This is the last totem pole on village island (you have to know what you are looking for). The sections of the totem look like mossy blocks. I felt special knowing that I would be one of the last people to ever see this totem pole.