By Jeff Bear

The Haida Gwaii Museum (HGM) is a tiny gem situated on the shoreline of Skidegate Inlet in British Columbia (BC). Undoubtedly a must-see for visitors, it has become a destination for many outsiders who come to experience the wondrous archipelago I am fortunate to call home.

The HGM is filled with art treasures that transcend time and place.

From 2020 to late 2021, I rented a classroom in the museum, serving as the location office for the art documentary series, Petroglyphs to Pixels. While there, my team and I had access to the vast collection of artwork and family treasures, some of which date back centuries. A simple walk through the museum and its galleries allows one to take in masterworks of the great Haida nation. Its displays, both pre-colonial and contemporary, are extraordinary.

The fine art of the contemporary Masters, Robert Davidson, James Hart, Alfie Collinson, Delores Churchill, Evelyn Vanderhoop, and so many others, is visible throughout. The works of artists who are now considered ancestors and part of the immediate previous generation, including the venerable master of textiles, Bill Reid, Primrose Adams, and carver Norman Price, are on permanent display.

This art canon follows on a legacy that predates the colonial invasion of British Columbia. The bas-relief of the art form is distinguished by a term known as formline, accentuated by a curvilinear style, a common element in two-dimensional art. The works have mesmerized viewers for ages and caused early Europeans to classify the masterworks as curiosities.

The perception of early missionaries was a gross exaggeration, interpreting monumental works as idolatry and worshipping a foreign god. The Haida view these monuments as lessons from the supernatural world. This concept underscores the philosophy of life among the people who have occupied the vast ecosystem now known as Haida Gwaii since time immemorial.

When, in the nineteenth century, anthropology was born, the winds of change blew ferociously throughout the continent. The science viewed Indigenous cultures as a commodity, a vanishing race, something to be purchased and integrated into the entertainment culture of early settlers. The idea of collection was born, and they invented a misguided notion that Indigenous people were a dying culture. Smallpox epidemics and other foreign diseases nearly made these early misinterpretations a reality.

Genocide was a distinct aspect of the so-called discovery of the Americas. Yet, Indigenous populations survived. Colonialism came at a significant cost to Indigenous cultures, nearly destroying a diversity of unique languages, lifestyles, and material culture. What is remarkable is that art somehow defied extinction.

Over the last century, an awakening has been unfolding, little by little. The HGM is an apt metaphor for survivance, a microcosm of resilience.

How did this happen? When did it start? I decided to investigate.

Nika Collison

HGM Executive Director Nika Collison says that there was a sense of urgency in the late 1960s. Researchers revealed that Haida human remains were scattered throughout North America and Europe, mainly in museums located in urban centers and almost exclusively administered by Universities. Unethical academics and missionaries had been looting grave sites and taking away the bones and physical remains of the Haida. Grave sites often took the form of the bentwood boxes sitting on mortuary totem poles. The art of the box and its contents were prized possessions for collectors. The misguided notions were racist, yet complex. Inexplicably, Haida treasures were not considered art.

“There is no direct word for art in the Haida world. In Western art history, many genres exist. In the Haida worldview, we have never been viewed as fine artists. Yet we have words that describe a variety in the purpose of totem poles, Chilkat robes, and carved adornments. And there are words that demonstrate the high aesthetics, [such as] deeply carved, for example.”

Moreover, Collison explains, “Art was a companion to Haida language and culture. Art was at the core of our being.”

Not unlike many Indigenous languages across North America, the Haida language hangs precariously on a precipice. While efforts to revitalize a nearly lost language are forceful and steady, the companion art has changed, remaining true to its values.

Haida art has undergone a renaissance in the latter half of the 20th century. Contemporary artists are doing their part. Some compare Haida vitality in art to that of the Italian Renaissance art. Indeed, when visiting the art galleries of Vancouver, such as the Audain Museum in Whistler, BC, one can see the complexity of modern aesthetics reflected in the ancient Haida design motif—the tension and bas-relief.

James Hart is one of many practitioners who has taken an ancient design module to another level. According to Collison, it’s about responsibility. “Jim is an amazing artist, and he has taken the form in many different directions.” Hart is also a hereditary chief with chiefly possessions.

James Hart

“There is a scholarship associated with this movement”, she adds, “and female artists, otherwise unappreciated and overlooked, are making their mark. Women are redefining our look, incorporating the feminine spirit into the works.”

“The potlatch is the exhibit gallery. We are dressing ourselves, from our jewelry to our regalia. Our face painting has to be culturally accurate. It’s abstract for sure, but when I wear my regalia, people are mesmerized. I have a Dorothy Grant (Haida Fashion designer) Chilkat, longer dress jacket. People want to know where I get that,” explains Collison. “I was late to the game, but it is really important now. We are normalizing Indigenous art and incorporating it into our daily lives.”

” Art for art’s sake” is taking on a new meaning in the Pacific Northwest. The federal government had banned Indigenous gatherings for nearly one hundred years. They banned public gatherings, along with the display of art and adornment, the act of giving, the practice of name-giving, and the rituals of passing on cultural knowledge and reciting history and lineages. All of these practices were carried out with art at their very core.

Haida art curator and tattoo practitioner Kwiaawah Jones points out that after the banning of adornment, most notably silver and gold jewelry, Tattoo was an alternative. “They would stop using crest art on their clothing and in their carvings, yet they would place such adornments on their body. In some cases, full-body tattoos. And they had to get it right.”

Indeed, adds Collison, “They continued to follow rules of line and colour. Strict protocol. Family Histories.”

Collison is an appropriate surrogate to emerging cultural vitalities. Her grandfather was the late Bill Reid. Her roots run deep in Haida philosophy, and the aesthetic values are in her DNA, guiding her daily movement. Haida aesthetics like, “Everything depends on everything else. Have respect for all things in life.”

“It’s about Yagudang, or respect. It’s part of the Haida way of being.”

Visit the Haida Gwaii Museum to find out for yourself, haidagwaiimuseum.ca

 

Jeff Bear is a creator, writer, and director focusing on Indigenous content. A multimedia expert with over 30 years of experience in television broadcasting and journalism, Bear seeks to follow a story, the movement of his people in society, and to capture the nuances of those pursuing social and environmental justice.