Vancouver Island: The North

We came back east to the central coast and stayed two nights and a day at Campbell River;

just long enough to restock on food, including fish from Crabby Bob’s…

on the harbour.

We also took the opportunity for 9 holes of disc golf, which we hadn’t played in ages. I’m happy to report that I won by one shot.

On the 11th we drove north to the end of the road at Port Hardy. We stayed at Port Hardy RV Resort and Log Cabins, which was hardly a resort, it had tight spaces and questionable electrical service.

But it was a short walk down a lovely little trail…

from Port Hardy, the little town at the end of the road.

On Saturday Bud and I went to their Farmer’s Market. Each time we went to town I walked back.

The path went along the waterfront.

One day I saw this seaplane come in and dock.

Another this eagle.

Between the town and our campground there is the estuary of the Quatse River. I walked along it or across it several times, and I almost always saw eagles.

The trail continued upstream from our campground.

Where it made a loop along the Quatse River.

The far end of the loop crossed the wooden road bridge.

Like the rainforest on the west coast the growth here was lush.

This ancient stump was supporting two full sized trees.

Even when the trail went straight down the old road it was pretty.

On the one sunny day we drove to Port McNeill to park and take the ferry on foot to Cormorant Island and the town of Alert Bay. While waiting for the ferry we spotted this monkey puzzle tree at the marina next to the ferry dock.

Here comes our ferry. It’s much smaller than most we’ve seen. It only goes from Port McNeill to either Cormorant Island or Sointula Island, both small islands in the Georgia Straight of the Salish Sea.

Small though it was, it still transported this loaded log truck.

We had a pleasant, short ride on the top deck.

Cormorant Island is the home of the ‘Namgis First Nation.

The whole island is only three miles long and a half mile wide.

But it goes up steeply from the shore.

We walked along the waterfront,

which seems somewhat frozen in time.

It’s an odd place,

struggling to transform itself from a fishing powerhouse,

to a tourist destination.

There were shelters along the waterfront…

with beautiful carvings.

And throughout the island…

there were totem poles. The figures on the poles represent the history of a family group. Not a history of their actions, but a religious history, how that family relates to the sacred beings.

This huge pole looked like it was being worked on.

It was on the grounds of…

the U’mista Cultural Center. If a person was kidnapped or stolen in a raid and then returned to their family the ‘Namgis word for their return is U’mista.

The Cultural Center is named U’mista because it is the result of the ‘Namgis peoples’ efforts to regain possession of the sacred goods stolen from them in 1921. From 1885 to 1951 Potlatches, the sacred feasts of the northwest peoples, were outlawed. In 1921 Chief Dan Cranmer held a Potlatch which was raided, and all the sacred items taken.

The beautiful Transformation Mask opened on display and closed in the picture and explanation above was one those pieces. Although the Transformation Mask is just on permanent loan, many pieces have been fully recovered and these are now held in the U’mista Cultural Center. These sacred objects are held in a large room, the Potlatch Room, where no photos are allowed. Perhaps because this piece is not fully theirs it is not in that room and I could photograph it. There were many more beautifully carved masks and costume pieces.

There were also examples of the people’s crafts,

stories about their traditions,

and the very moving story of the end of the residential school here on the island. I was astonished to learn that a native child had a greater chance of dying in a residential school than a member of the Canadian Armed Forces did in World War Two.

I know the First Nations still struggle but the evidence of the resurgence of their culture is everywhere up here and it is heartening.

Too soon we had to catch the ferry back off this lovely little island…

and the next day drove back south to get ready to leave Vancouver Island.