For generations First Nation people have used the natural resources of the ocean to supply seafood to their villages and old growth Red and Yellow Cedar trees to build their Long Houses, canoes, totems, masks and sections of the standing tree for planking, clothing and baskets etc. Today these standing trees have been labeled as Cultural Modified Trees. (CMT) The term describes the modification of a tree (any species) by the indigenous people as part of their tradition. Trees are registered by the government of British Columbia and are illegal to cut down. CMT dot British Columbia’s coastline displaying living memories of First Nations coastal heritage. Exploration in the Great Bear Rainforest is a voyage through time that gives us the ultimate wilderness experience. Photos: Opposite page top: Bald eagle is perched on an old abandoned floating logging “A” frame. This float was once used to pull small logs down the mountainside into the ocean. bottom to photograph sea creatures. As the weather gets warmer during mid-day, the fjords inflow winds begin, surf up, and the grizzlies head for the shade until the late afternoon when the temperature cools down. This comes from living up-close with the grizzlies for five years. If you have never caught a “Spring” (King) salmon from your kayak, the experience is something you will never forget. The strong fighting fish will tow you all over the Inlet, taking hours to reel in if you’re lucky. Getting the fish in the kayak is another story. Over the years, we had grizzlies swim out to the kayak to investigate; make false charges from the shoreline, (lightening fast) plus a group of four sleeping eight feet (2.4 m) from our front door. But the hairiest moment was when lying on a pier watching two grizzlies fighting 12 ft (3.6 m). below. I was looking through the lens, taking pictures, when one of the grizzlies spotted me, before pressing the shutter release button for the next image, the grizzly was on its hind legs, growling five feet (1.5 m) away from my face. Took the shot, but the lens could not focus fast enough. Talk about an adrenalin rush.
Bottom left: This ancient western red cedar tree in the Great Bear Rainforest have been modified by the indigenous people to use as planking to make their traditional Long Houses over a century ago. Culturally Modified Tree (CMT) is a term that describes the modification of a tree by the First Nation people as part of their tradition. Bottom right : My partner and I lived alone on Calvert Island for three winters building trails, bridges, ladders and boardwalks to gain access to lookouts and beaches facing the open west side of the Island. (Trails have since been up-graded) This page top: First Nations Nuxalk carvers raven mask. Bottom: Archeologists have studied the rock carvings (Petroglyphs) in British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest. They provide evidence that people have lived in this area more than 10,000 years. Some believe they have Polynesian origin?
As June approaches, schools of herring start to enter the Inlets, bays and streams in the Great Bear Rainforest. This brings white sided dolphins, humpbacks, orcas, steller sea lions, seabirds and salmon in from the Pacific Ocean. This is also when the marine highway of the Inside passage starts getting busy with vessels heading northbound to Alaska. The Great Bear Rainforest is home to the First Nations Oweekeno people in Rivers Inlet, Heiltsuk from Bella Bella and Nuxalk from Bella Coola.
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Issue 79 Christmas 2015
PAGE 13