Haida Gwaii
Contributing writer
Sprawled along the shores of Bearskin Bay, Queen Charlotte City looks out over the islands of Skidegate Inlet, with Sleeping Beauty Mountain rising up in the background. Several heritage buildings dating back to 1909, line the main road of Queen Charlotte City, providing interesting subjects for photographers. The Premier Hotel, the old hospital, the old schoolhouse, and the old sawmill site offer a fascinating glimpse into life in Queen Charlotte City in the early part of the twentieth century.
Sightseeing trips can be arranged by boat, heading out of the Queen Charlotte's and into the small group of islands in the Skidegate Inlet. There you can view petroglyphs on Lina Island, and visit the Haida Village of Haina on Maude Island which has been uninhabited since around 1890. Longer boat trips can be arranged to more significant cultural sites like Ninstints on Anthony Island in Gwaii Haanas National Park, and Skedans on Louise Island. Outdoor recreation in the area includes fishing, boating, camping, beachcombing, hiking, kayaking, sightseeing, and wildlife viewing.
Skidegate Days (called Singaay Laa or “Good Day” by the Haida) an annual community fundraiser, happens July 2010 this year. The main activities begin at 11 am., and this year will include canoe races in Bill Reid's ceremonially-painted Haida canoe, outdoor volleyball and ball tournaments, kids' activities with lots of prizes, a traditional salmon barbeque, concession and carnival booths, a bingo tournament, and a celebration dinner and dance. The Haida War Canoe races in front of the village will kick off the event.
Documented as a thriving community by the first European explorers to the islands, Skidegate became a hub for early trade in otter furs. Today, Skidegate is one of two cultural centres of the Haida nation on the islands, and the site of a strong Haida cultural revival where visitors can examine art and cultural artifacts first hand, and purchase beautiful Haida jewelry and crafts.
The Haida Gwaii Museum is dedicated to preserving and presenting the human and natural history of Haida Gwaii, with outstanding collections of Haida art and technology, and excellent fossil and natural history specimens. Items on display include Haida wood and argillite carvings, pioneer artifacts, historic photographs, ancient totem poles from Tanu and Skedans dating back to 1878, and the skull of a humpback whale.
•The Haida Heritage Centre at Kaay Llnagaay consists of several longhouse-style buildings, which house the Haida Gwaii Museum, Performing House, Carving Shed, Canoe House, Bill Reid Teaching Centre and a gift shop. The traditional complex is fronted by six monumental totem poles.
•Famous Haida artist Bill Reid has left a beautiful legacy in wood carvings at Skidegate, including the dogfish totem pole at the huge cedar longhouse in the Village at the Haida Band Council office.
•In June 2001, six new cedar totem poles - each 13 metres or higher - were pulled upright on the shores of Skidegate on Haida Gwaii, ancestral home of the Haida Nation. The new poles are the first to be raised here since 1978. They honour six major southern Haida villages, five of which were devastated by smallpox before the 20th century.