|
A
Salmon Way of Life on
the Northwest Coast
In the backyard smokehouses
and open barbecue fires
that scent the evening
air of Waglisla (Bella
Bella), on Campbell
Island some 500 kilometres
northwest of Vancouver,
descendants of the Heiltsuk
tribes tend the embers
of an ancient lifestyle
fueled by salmon and
the sea.
Once many thousands
strong, the Heiltsuk
people have lived for
millennia on the central
coast of British Columbia.
Brought to the brink
of extinctionìa mere
|
The R.W.
Large Collection
The
Heiltsuk
connection
with land
and sea
is reflected
in the painted
masks, carved
figures,
boxes, baskets,
bows, walking
sticks,
musical
instruments,
jewelry,
tools and
fishing
gear of
the Royal
Ontario
MuseumsÐ
R.W. Large
Collection.
The artifacts
were sent
to the Ontario
Provincial
Museum in
1901 and
1906 by
The Reverend
Dr. R.W.
Large, a
Methodist
missionary
who arrived
in Bella
Bella in
1898. The
Collection
was the
subject
of a special
2000-2001
exhibit
of Heiltsuk
art and
culture
at the Royal
Ontario
Museum.
|
|
200
tribal survivorsìunder
the influence of European
conflict and disease
in the 19th century,
the tribal community
has recently experienced
a resurgence not only
of its population numbers,
but also its cultural
dignity. The 2,000 Heiltsuk
people who now live
at Waglisla and Klemtu,
at the heart of a territory
that covers 22,000 square
kilometres of islands,
land and sea, are giving
new voice to a traditional
art and culture that
once accorded them great
respect.
So intertwined with
nature and its gifts
that there is no separate
word for úartî, Hailhzaqvla
(the Heiltsuk language)
reflects the human link
with land and sea. Central
to this link is salmon.
A dietary staple even
in modern, contemporary
Bella Bella, salmon
is also the lifeblood
of the local economy.
While village residents
roast fresh sockeye
in the old way, over
an open fire, and fill
their pantries with
hand-canned fish prepared
according to countless
different recipes; workers
at the local band-run
Bella Bella Fish Processing
Plant, pack chum salmon
roe for export to Japan.
At the dawn of a new
century, salmon continues
to be the thread that
runs through the natural,
economic and cultural
history of the Heilstuk
people.
The
First Salmon Ceremony
Much like contemporary
New Year's or Easter
celebrations, aboriginal
First Salmon ceremonies
recognized the ever-revolving
circle of life. With
supplies of dried and
smoked salmon running
short after a long winter,
the arrival of the first
fresh fish of the season
was eagerly awaited
and gratefully acknowledged.
Throughout the Pacific
Northwest, the Tlingit,
the Haida, the Tsimsyan
and many other tribes
ceremonially burned
the bones of the fish,
or returned them solemnly
to the stream in which
they had been caught.
The bones were believed
to find their way back
to the village of the
salmon people, where
the first salmon would
be whole again, thus
assuring a plentiful
food supply for the
following year.
|
