Alert Bay, Cormorant Island

Alert Bay, Cormorant Island

A Walk Through Namgis Culture

Alert Bay on Cormorant Island, located on the northeastern side of Vancouver Island, is attractive to boaters as an opportunity to go ashore and stretch their sea legs, or load up with provisioning as they travel en route to points north or returning home. For many, Alert Bay, known as the home of the killer whale, is a wonderful location to learn about the area’s First Nation history and culture.

The Namgis First Nation has called Alert Bay home for as long as anyone can recall, and the town is the island’s oldest community. A longtime fishing center, Alert Bay became an important trading hub for early residents in the area, and today the island is home to a diverse population of 1,300 who share a unique cultural environment.

Adjacent to the ferry dock is Alert Bay Boat Harbour, well protected behind a large breakwater. Because the Village of Alert Bay is boater friendly, the harbormaster always tries to leave room on the docks for transient vessels. Standard government dock fees apply, and power and water are available. The pure fresh water comes from a well more than 300-feet deep.

A grocery store, a pharmacy, a liquor store, a bank, a post office, The Alert Bay Library Museum with over 6,000 photographs of local history and a handful of restaurants and pubs make the town center, but the center piece of the village is the  U’mista Cultural Centre. U’mista refers to “the return of something important,” which in this case are native people’s potlatch artifacts that were confiscated by government and church officials when potlatch was banned from the late 1800s until 1951. The potlatch ceremony marked an important occasion: naming of children, marriage, transferring rights or privileges and mourning the dead. The collection of Kwakwaka’wakw artifacts housed at the cultural centre is one of the finest anywhere, and the priceless ceremonial masks and other items are presented openly in a traditional big-house style.

A walk up the hill from the cultural centre to the traditional Big house and a 73-feet totem pole, the world’s tallest. During the summer, visitors can see performances of traditional dancing and drumming.

After returning to the marina continued to explore the culture of Alert Bay by strolling south a few blocks along the waterfront boardwalk to a display of totem poles at the ‘Namgis Burial Ground’. Walking in the grounds is not permitted, but you can view the traditional carvings from the perimeter.

The visitors centre in town provides informational brochures and map routes for self-guided walking tours with interpretive displays that have been installed along the way.

Also allow sometime to walk to the Alert Bay Ecological Reserve, aka “Gator Gardens.” The community has established ten miles of trails. One that runs through the reserve has a boardwalk that provides an up-close view of culturally modified cedar trees, which were partly stripped of bark by native people who processed it for fiber to be used in clothing, fish nets, baskets and rope.

Signs of the Namgis culture are everywhere in Alert Bay. From scores of totem poles and ritual masks to the U’mista Cultural Centre and the Big House has ensured that the area’s rich native heritage is remembered and celebrated.

(Deane Hislop in partnership with Freedom Marine)