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travel / adventure / guides / summer 2004
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An historic meeting place for Old and New World cultures remains a stunning West Coast destination today
BY MATTHEW JACKSON
Blossoms were already sprouting between the toes of giant Sitka spruce and hemlock when two great ocean vessels arrived
from the west in the spring of 1778. They anchored offshore, not far from the Mowachaht/Muchalaht village of Yuquot, on what is today Vancouver
Island. Chief Maquinna, upon seeing the ships, instructed several of his finest braves —
the great whale hunters of the Pacific — to paddle their
canoes out to the wooden beasts and report back with their findings.
According to legend, a flotilla of giant cedar canoes was soon heaving
toward the ships. Clad in body paint and ornamental masks, the skilled Mowachaht/Muchalaht paddlers were cautious
as they approached. On board,
they could see a white man with a hooked nose who looked like a dog salmon. Another,
with a large hump on his back, appeared as a great sockeye
come to life. They returned to their chief and reported that the vessels were like "fish come alive into people."
The ships were the Discovery and the Resolution. Skippered by Captain James Cook of Britain's Royal Navy,
they anchored off the island for
repairs. For Cook, the man who has been called the world's greatest navigator, the encounter would alter his
plans and mark an historic contact
between Old World and New World cultures.
Cook was fascinated by the Mowachaht/Muchalaht. His crew would spend a month trading for food and fur with the
members of the settlement,
whose ancestors had arrived in the area thousands of years earlier. The encounter introduced Cook to a highly
developed civilization living in
harmony with the rain forest. He studied their elaborate woodworking culture, with its sophisticated iron tools,
and was impressed by the
Mowachaht/Muchalaht's recognition of artistry, in which every creation — whether it was a cedar-plank
longhouse or an intricately woven blanket
or robe made from yellow-cedar bark or sea otter fur — was authenticated with the artist's signature.
The Mowachaht/Muchalaht were a prosperous people. The Edenesque rain forest offered them great abundance. During the
spring and summer,
the communities lived by the ocean, which was teeming with life. The women gathered shellfish and laid spruce boughs in
the water to collect
herring eggs, while the men hunted for grey and humpback whales. In fall, they travelled to coastal rivers to fish for salmon.
As the salmon run
ended, the Mowachaht/ Muchalaht moved inland, under stately old-growth trees cloaked in ostrich ferns and mosses,
where black bears and Sitka
black-tailed deer were plentiful. The forests were thick with salmon-berries, huckleberries and wild blueberries,
which were picked and
made into dried cakes.
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It was during this season that the Mowachaht/Muchalaht held potlatches, great gift-giving ceremonies which verified the
status and rank of
a chief to his clan.
The potlatches often began with a shaman dance, re-enacting the kidnapping of an ancestor by spirits that endowed him
with supernatural gifts.
The first sustained contact between Europeans and British Columbia's First Nations also introduced the larger world to the grandeur of
western Vancouver Island. From the seaward coast inland, the Nootka Sound region is full of life, with lush old-growth
forest, rocky headlands, winding fiords, long stretches of rugged shore and abundant land and marine animals. Today,
adventurers can still
witness the majestic homeland of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht on Vancouver Island's wild west coast.
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Getting There
Located on the west coast of Vancouver Island, Nootka Sound is approximately 70 kilometres north of Tofino and due west
from Campbell River on the island's eastern shore. The only way to reach Nootka Sound is by air or water. The point of
departure is Gold River, the terminus of Highway 28 that runs the width of central Vancouver Island. From Gold River,
you travel 12 kilometres to the Gold River Harbour, then find your way aboard a chartered water taxi, a float plane, or
the converted minesweeper tour-freighter that carries passengers, freight and kayakers into the Sound on day and overnight
trips. The sights you'll see getting out into the Sound are worth the trip in itself.
Nootka Sound Service: www.mvuchuck.com
Air Nootka: www.airnootka.com/index2.html
Hiking
Experienced wilderness hikers or those in the company of a knowledgeable guide can explore the rugged Nootka Trail,
which stretches for more than 35 kilometres between Louie Lagoon and Yuquot. The trail follows
the west coast of Nootka Island, offering hikers a challenging and spectacular walk through First Nations territory,
across rivers and beaches, along the top of rocky headlands and down into sheltered coves.
www.i-needtoknow.com/nootka/
Wildlife Watching
On a boat trip through the Sound, it's not uncommon to see wildlife like wolves, sea lions, black bears,
cougars and bald eagles. The Sound is home to one of the world's largest otter populations, and large gatherings
of these aquatic mammals are common.
www.vancouverisland.com
Paddling
Kayakers can explore Bligh Island, where Cook first dropped anchor, as well as numerous surrounding inlets.
Highlights include rock hieroglyphics, the Nuchatlitz Archipelago and the white sand of Escalante Beach. When you're
finished, you'll understand why the Mowachaht/Muchalaht chose this as their homeland more than 4,000 years before Cook
ever set eyes on the place.
www.vancouverislandkayak.com
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Culture
Yuquot, or Friendly Cove, is located at
the southeastern tip of Nootka Island and
is a National Historic Site. Designated in
1923 by Parks Canada to commemorate
European contact, Yuquot was successfully
re-designated to include First Nations
history in 1997. Members of the
Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nations
conduct history tours that include a visit
to the traditional gathering places of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht,
at both Friendly Cove and the Whaler's Shrine Site.
www.yuquot.ca/
Matthew Jackson is a regular contributor to Travel & Adventure. His first book, The Canada Chronicles, will be released this spring.
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