July 8 - Alert Bay, Cormorant Island

Today our friends, Ron and Lisa met us in Port McNeil and with all aboard, we departed for a 40 minute trip across Johnstone Strait to Alert Bay.  Alert Bay is a quiet village on Cormorant Island where it feels like time has long stood still.  A walk down the main street, dotted with colourful small houses and shops, took us to the old cemetery where we stood and stared at a magnificent collection of old totem poles.  The totem poles, in varying states of preservation and restoration, are powerful.

Charming Alert Bay from our approach

Lots of old boats at the docks:

The next morning we walked in the opposite direction on the main street, to the acclaimed U'Mista (which means "the return of something important") Cultural Centre which houses a prized collection of aboriginal artifacts confiscated after an "illegal" 'Namgis Potlatch ceremony in the 1920's.  The Potlatch is a gift-giving ceremony central to the culture of the Kwakwaka wakw (of which the 'Namgis are one of several "nations") and other First Nations peoples from this area and it was banned in Canada from 1885 until 1955.    In response to persistent pressure from the rightful owners, most of these treasures have been repatriated and many are now on display in the cultural centre.  The cultural center stands beside the now decrepit and eerie St. Michael's  residential school, which was built in 1929 and remarkably, remained open until 1974.  The abandoned building evokes a sense of the great sadness it engendered for so many years.

St. Michael's residential school looms inthe background

The U'Mista Cultural Centre

Carvers work downstairs in the old residential school
The public is welcome to watch them at work

Christ Church Anglican (est. 1892)

A man painting a totem pole outside his house

Community Meeting Treaty and Its Alternatives

Old outboard motors in the window of the Shipyards building

Old fish processing plant

Sign in front of processing plant

Around town, the processing plant and shipbuilding facilities have seen better days; nevertheless, this feels like a special and important place.  We we would love to come back here and spend more time.

I credit the U'Mista Cultural Centre for the information provided here, it was all new to me.  They have an excellent website:  u'mista.org
Also, thanks to Lisa who shared her great photos with me, some of which appear in this posting.