Linda Ginenthal

Today we start. I’m a bit nervous and excited. I’m hoping I am up to the challenge of 6 days kayaking and 5 nights of wilderness camping. First leg, an hours-long van ride on a bumpy logging road - with lots of clear cuts in evidence. Then to the boat launch where we stuffed our dry bags and supplies onto a Zodiac. A Zodiac is how lots of the inter-island transportation happens here. They are fleet and efficient. They, however, are not the most comfortable mode. We were handed these heavy rubberized rain coats that went from the ankle to hood. In the “heat” it seemed entirely overkill. Our Captain then told us “It is highly advised.” So we put them on. And we are glad we did. Halfway in our one hour journey, we started to get sprayed in the face and everywhere else. And it was super cold out on the water with the wind.

We arrived at Kunga Beach where we emptied out the boat on the beach. We were in the middle of nowhere.

Our tent was already set up nestled in the forest on the softest bed of thick moss. We set up the cushy ExPed pads and cozy sleeping bags and headed out to the beach to meet our guides, Dan and Maia. Maia had been out with the last tour and we were told that after our tour, she would be doing another couple of tours back to back. Wow!

As part of the orientation, we learned that the itinerary was very fluid owing to the wind and conditions. We weren’t sure if we would get out on the water today. As luck would have it, conditions allowed us to paddle over the Tanu Island for our first Watchman site visit. I also think the guides used this first day to sus out how we paddled. The crossing was about an hour of open water. Sheryl and I were in one of the two doubles. Easy peasy.

Visiting a Watchman site is a privilege. Gwaii Haanas (Canadian National Park) has been home to the Haida peoples for about 14,000 years and encompasses the southern half of all of Haida Gwaii. We met Sean, a Watchman, who took his family down to Tanu Island each summer for his “vacation” and to tell the history and stories of the Haida and their environs. They are also there to guard the sites. Archeologists have harvested many, many artifacts including bones… from these sites.

They speak of the land and the water without any degree of separation. There is no marine reserve and then park/reserve land. They are the caretakers from the bottom of the ocean to the tops of the mountains - they are one system. To visit, our guides radioed ahead to ask if we could come by. It was truly an ask. I believe the answer is usually yes unless there is another group or it is before 10 and after 4.

Sean is an academic professor and deeply knowledgeable and a bit of a character. I was curious about the news that the Haida got “title” to all of Haida Gwaii in the last month after a long struggle/negotiation with British Columbia. I couldn’t quite square the news article with what it would mean for the people on Haida Gwaii. It looked like British Columbia would still run the schools, healthcare system, policing and other services. What did Haida gain from BC relinquishing title? Sean had a long answer.

The logging companies were planning on mowing down the southern half of what was then called the Queen Charlotte Islands. After a long battle, the Haida were able to establish these lands as park lands and not open to logging. (More on this in the next Watchmen site)

The agreement between “The Crown” or Great Britain and the Haida to establish this park starts with two paragraphs aligned side-by-side on the page:

“The Government of Canada views the Archipelago as Crown land, subject to certain private rights or interests, and subject to the sovereignty of her Majesty the Queen and the legislative jurisdiction of the Parliament of Canada and the Legislature of the Province of British Columbia.”

“The Haida Nation sees the Archipelago as Haida Lands, subject to the collective and individual rights of the Haida citizens, the sovereignty of the Hereditary Chiefs, and jurisdiction of the Council of the Haida Nation. The Haida Nation owns these lands and waters by virtue of heredity, subject to the laws of the Constitution of the Haida Nation, and the legislative jurisdiction of the Haida House of Assembly.”

Clearly the Haida were not ceding anything here. And that is how Sean portrayed the peoples of Haida - strong, confident in their role as caretakers and stewards of their lands and waters, and trucked nobodies crap. With this new title to their own land and sea, BC is still going to operate the services. However, decision making was up to the Haida Nation.

One of the ways that BC and Canada has sought to keep Crown land for the Crown is to pit the Indigenous people against settlers. Here, the Haida established a Council that included both Indigenous and settlers working together. No divide and conquer here.

He showed us around the site and described the long houses visible and now covered with moss. The houses were constructed with these impossibly large trees as beams and planks. Half of the house was below grade with three layers on the perimeter where people slept. The center was large enough to accommodate about 50 people. Pretty cool looking. I’m not sure how they raised with roof beams, but we got a lesson on how they raised the totems that fronted each of the long houses.

The sad truth of it is that 95% of the population was wiped out by small pox. Haida believe this was intentional. Sean spoke of the many consequences of this near annihilation. I’ll share my favourite. Deer have been introduced in Haida Gwaii on two separate occasions. With no predators, they have overrun the land and munched the forest understory making it tough for new cedar trees to grow. First bait stations were set to lure them to waiting gunman. In 2017 to complete the task, Canada rounded up a posee of camouflage-wearing hunters from New Zealand to cull deer from several of the islands - 400 alone from Ramsey Island.

So, as Sean tells it, the scientific community led by Haida researchers have found deer bones that establish that deer have lived on the archipelago for millennia. With the one predator nearly eliminated from the landscape (humans) deer have proliferated. Haida’s solution is to let people hunt the deer. Shoot them in the head so that the meat is edible (adrenaline coursing through the deer spoils the meat) and eventually, the islands would be restored to a better balance - a modestly controlled understory, nutritious food for the people, and not marauding camo-wearing commandos tromping through the forest. Basically, let to people in Haida Gwaii manage it.

He outlined the philosophy as one of fierce loyalty to the land/sea and a cooperative and practical approach to the inevitable changes that this group of islands has experienced over eons. Sounds about right.

We paddled back across the waters and were greeted by a humpback whale or two throwing up spouts of sea spray. They came even closer when we reached our campsite. I didn’t get a photo but I could clearly make out the fins and tails. The sun doesn’t go down until after 10pm - not that I would know. We crawled into our sleeping bags, put on our eye masks and fell fast asleep. What a spectacular first day!

You can read about the deer wars here: https://hakaimagazine.com/features/deer-wars-th…Read more