Alert Bay and Johnstone Strait
The quiet streets of Alert Bay on Cormorant Island in British Columbia’s Broughton Archipelago belie its importance as the cultural heart of the Kwakwaka’wakw people. In the Potlatch tradition, it’s not what you have that matters, but what you can give away. The more you give, the more regard and respect your family receives from the community. Perhaps this tradition of giving is what creates such a gracious and generous people.
Today, our visit reflected that spirit of giving from our gracious hostess Lillian Hunt, telling us the story of the Potlatch Collection in the U’Mista Cultural Center, while Andrea Cranmer and others passionately taught dances to the young ones. The generosity of Donna and her husband sharing the best of traditional foods with us was delightful- we ate fresh caught sockeye salmon, barbecued at home this morning and served with bannock and jams she’s preserved in the last few weeks. What a treat!
Arriving this morning as a group of strangers aboard the National Geographic Sea Bird, we departed a few hours later with a sense of having spent time among the most congenial of friends. This place has captivated me for more than a dozen years, and any time spent among the people of Alert Bay is a time to be kept in my own ‘Box of Treasures’.
Johnstone Strait is known for killer whales, especially for the groups that hunt salmon. We weren’t disappointed, after lunch at least nine of these extraordinary large dolphins were spotted. We traveled along the waterway with them for a long while; watching the group surface and enjoying the breathtaking sight of the male killer whale’s dorsal fin breaking the water and rising up six feet. This group had two adult males and at least one calf. Later, another call came to head back up on deck for another marine mammal sighting. This time, a pod of more than one hundred Pacific white-sided dolphins came right alongside the ship to play in the pressure wave of the bow. These magnificent animals were extremely active –riding the bow, leaping in the stern wake and some of them jumping completely out of the water. What a glorious day in beautiful British Columbia!
