I arrived in Port Hardy, British Columbia, Canada with two objectives in mind. First, I want to paddle through the Johnstone Strait and explore this northern section of the Inside Passage. This was to be my third foray into the passage. As an Indigenous Ethnographer, I wanted to learn as much as possible about the first nation that inhabited and inhabits this off-the-grid place.
But where to start? The answer is that I need an indoctrination into the culture and history of the Kwakwaka’wakw first nation (Kwakiutl). 18 tribes and bands comprise this first nation of Canada. Who better than Calvin Hunt to provide the introduction to his people and culture. Calvin A. Hunt is a world-renowned artist from the Northwest Coast Kwakwaka’wakw community.
Off I went to Fort Rupert, a short drive from Port Hardy. There I found Calvin hard at work in his workshop and gallery. The pictures below say more than I could about his work. I toured with him and listened to his talk and stories. Some of them hit me pretty hard. I went outside to just take it all in. Below were the thoughts I had as I contemplated what I was experiencing.
“I’m sitting here in Calvin Hunt’s workshop. I’m sitting here by myself while everyone is upstairs in the gallery. I’m looking at two massive totem poles that he is building. It’s taking him a year to build these totem poles and he’s going to send them to Singapore and that is an addition to masks that he makes for people. Upstairs, he has a gallery with art of all kinds from baskets to paintings to carvings to ceremonial regalia that he works on in between working on the totem poles. It’s amazing to see the amount of detail that goes into each and every piece of artwork, I asked him about whether he builds this art as he gets an inspiration to be creative or to tell a story that might signify a birth, death, or a significant event, and his answer was yes, both of the above. It was an amazing experience to meet with such a famous artist and understand the stories about the Kwakwaka’wakw first nation, also known as the Kwakiutl. Sharing the history and culture he has provided us was a unique insight into his people. Some of the stories and cultural information that he shared with us can’t be read about in books. You can’t read about it because it comes from experiences of those who lived here in Fort Rupert and the Port Hardy area of Vancouver Island for thousands of years and were passed down to each generation and relayed to the next generation by elders and family through these types of stories. Calvin Hunt is a treasure and if you’ve ever get the chance to come to the Pacific Northwest you have to stop by Fort Rupert and listen to him. Even if you can’t think of anything specific, don’t worry. He will tell you everything you need to know and so much more.
From his backyard, I look out over the Queen Charlotte Strait and I am just overwhelmed by the whole experience.“
His story and artwork can be found on Calvin’s Website. A small gallery of the photos I took are below.
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