There were once 26 longhouses on Skedans, each
occupied by multiple families. Now evidence of that
ancient populace has been reduced to the faint outlines of
animal symbols on a group of towering, weathered totem
poles: eagles, frogs and killer whales. Unlike many of the
world’s cultural heritage sites, the poles of K’uuna
Llnagaay are not roped off and protected; instead, in
accordance with Haida beliefs, they have been left to
collapse back into the earth. I’d never seen totem poles of
this magnitude, left to disintegrate. Up close, even the
cracks in the weathered wood seemed to hold meaning.
As Mike Willie said, an oral history needs to be
repeated to ensure it is propagated, scattered around the
world. The story of being on that beach, in the presence
of those momentous totems and longhouse remains, is
connected to stories that are inextricably linked to the
geography of B.C. This place can never serve simply as a
backdrop, and traveling to these beaches, through this
water, forges those links again and again. In this
province, listening pays off. The scenery’s great, but the
stories are even better.98 AUGUST 2017 / TRAVELANDLEISUREASIA.COM
THE DETAILSGETTING THERE
Masset and Sandspit are the two
main airports on the islands of
Haida Gwaii, off the coast of.
British Columbia. The Port Hardy
Airport, serving Port McNeill as
well, is accessible via a
connection in Vancouver.TOUR OPERATORS
Haida Style Expeditions
Explore the waters of Haida Gwaii
on a 8.5-meter Zodiac.
Summertime cultural tours
include visits to the villages of
Skedans, Windy Bay and more.
haidastyle.com; from C$365 per
person.
Sea Wolf Adventures Learn
about Kwakwaka’wakw culture
throughout the Broughton
Archipelago. You may spot a few
grizzlies along the way.
seawolfadventures.ca; from
C$240 per person.LODGING
Cluxewe Resort Twelve cabins
near Port McNeill with full
kitchens and views of the
Broughton Strait. cluxeweresort.
com; cabins from C$140.
Jags Beanstalk A collection of
comfortable rooms upstairs from
a café. Take advantage of the bike
and kayak rentals. Skidegate;
jagsbeanstalk.com; doubles from
C$140.
Skwachàys Lodge This boutique
hotel in downtown Vancouver has18 uniquely designed suites filled
with aboriginal art. skwachays.
com; doubles from C$219.RESTAURANTS
Cowbay Café Pasta, pizza and
locally sourced seafood,
accompanied by B.C. wines and
beautiful waterfront views. Prince
Rupert; cowbaycafe.com; mains
C$12–$30.
Salmon n’ Bannock Inspired by
First Nations cuisine, the menu at
this Vancouver favorite features
hearty fare like boar meatballs
and variations on bannock, the
traditional First Nations
unleavened bread. salmonand
bannock .net; mains C$22–$46.victims in the brush; in one cave, he found a cedarwood
box containing a shaman’s wand. Back then, his group
protected the sacred sites from looters and vandals.
Today their role is to educate, offer marine forecasts and
make sure visitors don’t leave any traces behind.
If you want to go somewhere in Haida Gwaii, it’s best
to learn the original name. Skedans, for example, comes
from a European rendering of a chief ’s name; the
traditional name, K’uuna Llnagaay, means “Village on
the Edge,” and in the 19th century, this wind-whipped
peninsula was the winter home of around 450 Haida.
Early one morning I headed there in a Zodiac, out past
the village of Sandspit on a thudding journey of
extraordinary beauty, islands looming and receding
through the mist. Along the way a rainbow formed, and, in
the waters just past Sandspit, I saw a humpback breach.
Longhouses, once used to
shelter multiple families, are
common at Northwest First
Nations sites, where they’ve
been preserved as artifacts.LIVING
HISTORYA floatplane
docks in
Prince Rupert.