Photo Gallery

Canada - B.C. - Kwakiutl totem pole - Cemetery of Alert Bay

Alert Bay is, without a doubt, one of the centers of the contemporary Kwakiutl community. This is where the Nimkish iived, once the third most powerful Kwakiutl group. Pictured is the current president of the village, Chief Pat Alfred, with one of his grandchildren.

During the renaissance of traditional Kwakiutl culture, a large ceremonial house was built in Alert Bay at the initiative of the former chief, James Sewid. It is 15 meters (49 feet) wide, 21 meters (69 feet) long and 5.1 meters (17 feet) high. The center's opening on June 18, 1966, was planned to coincide with the Centennial of the Province of British Columbia. The front is decorated with an enormous killer whale, the door is protected by the figure of a guardian.

Of the four supporting posts of the ceremonial house in Alert Bay, the two posts in back are identically carved with the figure of the forest giantess Tsonoquoa with a thunderbird. The cross beam represents the two-headed sea monster Sisiutl. The carving was done by a local artist, Henry Speck. The board wall, which shields the sacred part of the ceremonial house, depicts a thunderbird and a killer whale.

This mortuary pole with Tsonoquoa and the thunderbird stands in the cemetery at Alert Bay. It is one of the masterpieces of Willie Seaweed, who carved it in 1931.

The grizzly bear, depicted here with a human figure between its legs, is a favorite subject of Kwakiutl artists. In 1980 this totem pole was still standing on Main Street in Alert Bay. Unfortunately, its present location is unknown.

Among the potlatch goods that were confiscated from the Nimkish in 1921 was this hawk mask, the guardian spirit of a chief. It was returned to the Nimkish and, since 1980, has been on exhibit in Alert Bay at the U’mista Cultural Centre. (See page 134.)

A Nimkish fishing boat is returning to the harbor at Alert Bay early in the morning. The downriggers for nets and lines are in a vertical position.

In 1980 the Nimkish Kwakiutl in Alert Bay opened the new Umista Cultural Centre. Its front, decorated with a thunderbird and killer whale, is patterned after an old chiefs house.

An old totem pole on the grounds of St Michael's Indian Residential School in Alert Bay, BC. It shows a thunderbird, grizzly bears and coopers at the base of the pole.

The 'Namgis Burial Grounds at Alert Bay is an old native cemetery and one of the few remaining locations on the BC coast where totems remain undisturbed on their original site.