We woke up this morning to a stunning sunrise as we docked at the village of Queen Charlotte. It was quite the welcome, as we began one of the main cultural highlights of the expedition here at Haida Gwaii. We spent the first part of our day touring the Haida Heritage Centre. There, we learned about the culture and history of the Haida as we walked through the museum and listened to the stories behind each of the totem poles outside the facility. After another delicious lunch aboard National Geographic Sea Bird, we enjoyed a beautiful hike on Spirit Lake Trail. We learned about many of the endemic plants and their uses from our Haida Gwaii cultural interpreter, Linda Tollas. Following dinner, Linda gave an insightful presentation on the cedar tree’s significance to her beautiful ancestral homeland.
5/7/2025
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National Geographic Sea Bird
Daajing Giids, Haida Gwaii, Hecate Strait
After an evening cruising from SG̱ang Gwaay, National Geographic Sea Bird made one last stop this morning in Daajing Giids to drop off our cultural interpreters, DeeDee Crosby and Grace Garvie. At dock, we had two unique opportunities. The first, our daily morning stretch class had the opportunity to meet on land, and second, we welcomed the incredible artisan, Aay Aay, aboard. We were familiar with Aay Aay, who we had met two days prior as an interpreter at the Haida Heritage Center. His specialty is a revival of traditional Haida weaving. During Aay Aay’s time on board, he shared with us his personal story about discovering and mastering his art with spruce root, cedar, and wool weaving. He taught us how to hand spin the warp threads that would be the beginnings of a wool piece. After an artistic morning, we embarked on our journey across Hecate Strait to reach our next destination along our expedition, Alaska. This evening, I write as we make our way into Dixon Entrance preparing to wake up to the scenery of the famed Misty Fjords in the morning.
