The Sacred One Standing

October 16, 2013

12:00 AM

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The Gwaii Haanas Legacy Pole

Parks Canada

A new perspective on the Gwaii Haanas Legacy Pole, a 42-foot monumental pole commissioned by a unique cooperative management board made up of equal members of the Haida Nation and the Government of Canada. This video includes GoPro footage taken from the top of the pole. The Gwaii Haanas Legacy Pole was raised at Hlk'yah GawGa (Windy Bay) on Lyell Island on August 15, 2013. This was the first pole raised in the Gwaii Haanas region in over 130 years.

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Haida Gwaii

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Carvers

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Gwaii Haanas Legacy Pole Design

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Hollowing Out - J. Shafto photo

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Working Together - J. Shafto photo

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Haida Gwaii Map from Space

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Parks Canada, J. Shafto

Legacy Pole Blocking Out with Visitors - J. Shafto photo

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Legacy Pole - J. Shafto photo

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Mortuary Poles

Mortuary poles at SGang Gwaay Llnagaay, a Haida Gwaii Watchmen Site, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Gwaii Haanas, Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada.

By Heather Ramsay

The Gwaii Haanas Legacy Pole brings new energy to the continuum of monumental art on Haida Gwaii.

Carved out of centuries-old red cedar, these monumental works once lined the beaches in Haida villages. Poles mark the lives, accomplishments, and deaths of great chiefs and matriarchs, along with the histories of clans, family lineages and community events.

This 42-foot monumental pole was commissioned by a unique cooperative management board made up of equal numbers of the Haida Nation and the Government of Canada. Known as the Archipelago Management Board, the body is renowned throughout the world as a model for cultural and natural resource governance. The pole was carved to honour the 20^th anniversary of the Gwaii Haanas Agreement, the cornerstone of the groundbreaking relationship.

The pole was raised in remote Windy Bay on Lyell Island in Gwaii Haanas (accessible by boat or float plane only) on August 15, 2013 and visitors are welcome to visit this new attraction.

Jaalen Edenshaw, along with his assistants Tyler York and Gwaai Edenshaw have worked for a year to carve figures on the pole that reveal the history of Gwaii Haanas. Sculpin, a ground dwelling fish at the bottom of the pole and Eagle at the top, represent the protection from mountain top to seafloor that Gwaii Haanas enjoys. Grizzly Bear and Dog help reveal the connection between science and Haida oral history, as archaeologists found evidence of these two creatures dating back 13,000 years. Five People Standing Together represent those Haida who participated in protests at Athlii Gwaii (Lyell Island) in 1985 to ensure this area was protected, along with all others who continue to work on protecting the area to this day.

Since the design was unveiled, Jaalen added another figure into the mix. The Sacred One Standing and Moving is a supernatural being responsible for earthquakes. This figure honours the October, 2012 7.7 earthquake off the west coast of Haida Gwaii. After the quake, the hot water at Hotspring Island, one of the five Haida Gwaii Watchman sites in Gwaii Haanas, stopped flowing.

A trip to Lyell Island will reveal an ancient forest similar to the one that was once home to this 42-foot log and Haida Gwaii Watchmen stationed there can describe what a carver looks for when searching for the right tree. A tour of the Haida Heritage Centre in Skidegate and learn more about the 13 other poles at the facility, some carved a decade ago and others more than 100 years old.

The Gwaii Haanas Legacy Pole will be the first pole to be raised in Gwaii Haanas in more than 130 years.

Gwaii Haanas Highlights

· Gwaii Haanas is the only area in Canada managed from mountain top to sea floor;

· The Haida Gwaii Watchmen Program and Parks Canada work closely together to protect this special area;

· National Geographic Traveller rated Gwaii Haanas the number one park destination in North America in 2005.

· Parks Canada archaeologists have found evidence of human history in Gwaii Haanas dating back 13,000 years;

· The International Union for the Conservation of Nature recognized Parks Canada for best practices in ecological restoration in 2012. They identified Yahguudang dlljuu: A Respectful Act, a project to restore salmon habitat on Lyell Island (the site of Haida protests in 1985 that led to the creation of Gwaii Haanas) as an example for the world.