Vancouver Island and the Southern Gulf Islands - Fabulous Western Canada: Capture the Excitement of the Great West! - page 71

Alert Bay Port Hardy

At the U'mista Cultural Center ,
one can learn about the Potlatch (“to
give”) ceremony through the history
of the U'mista Aboriginal community.
Missionaries tried to ban the ceremony;
there was even a law forbidding mem-
bers of the community from dancing,
preparing objects for distribution or
making public speeches. The cere-
mony was then held in secret and dur-
ing bad weather, when the missionaries
couldn't get to the island. A lovely col-
lection of masks and jewellery adorns
the walls. The Native Burial Grounds
and the Memorial Totems , which
testify to the richness of this art, should
not be missed.

Port Hardy, a town of fi shers and forest
workers, is located at the northeast end
of Vancouver Island. There is a wealth
of animal life in this region, both in the
water and on the land. Visitors can go
fi shing or whale-watching here, or sim-
ply treat themselves to a walk through
the forest in Cape Scott Provincial
Park.

Cape Scott Provincial Park en-
compasses 15,070ha of temperate
rain forest. Scott was a merchant from
Bombay, India, who fi nanced all sorts
of commercial expeditions. Many ships
have run aground on this coast, and a
lighthouse was erected in 1960 in order
to guide sailors safely along their way.
Sandy beaches cover two-thirds of the
64km stretch of waterfront.

6 The Southern Gulf Islands, with the Coast Mountains in the distance. © Pierre Longnus