2014/06 Haida Gwaii trip - Nisga'a museum |
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Friday July 4th
We were heading for the museum, further down the Nass River valley. On our way we passed this spot where the lava had piled up during the eruption, quite a sight with the
backdrop of mountains and snow and clouds. We drove to Laxgalts’ap where we passed this odd sculpture in a front yard. We didn’t stop to chat.
The Nisga’a museum is at the end of the paved road. We’d arrived before their opening time, but they opened up for us. Although it’s a magnificent and probably very expensive place, it is very far off the beaten track, so I doubt that it gets many visitors. 
The museum’s collection is outstanding. The smaller exhibits are within a reproduction of a Nisga’a long house, based on an 1860’s watercolour. Instead of the Haida’s house pole there is an enormous raven sculpture with tiny humans in its beak.
Inside the house were shaman figures with masks and rattles and carvings. Even daily use goods were decorated: bentwood boxes, baskets, spoons. There were also some paintings by Emily Carr, who captured the art some eighty years ago.
On our way out we stopped in the village at the government building to look at yet more poles. We were planning on retracing our steps to Terrace, but I thought we’d first take a look at the art in the biggest village Gitlaxt’aamiks.
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This building also featured the raven beak overhanging the entry door.
The four poles are probably the most elaborate we saw on the trip, but I preferred the view with the poles looking out across to the mountains.
While I was cavorting around in the rain taking pictures from a ditch, Sandie was looking at our maps and found a shortcut from there across to Cranberry Junction on the Cassiar highway, from where we could get to the Yellowhead with 40 less miles and without returning to Terrace. Shortcuts rarely end up being short, but they are often interesting.