Museum and Tanu Pole
This is my final post featuring the Haida Heritage Centre in Skidegate. Today I show some distant views of the buildings and how the Centre as a whole mimics the layout of a traditional village with a series of houses fronted by poles. I also include a few close-ups, random details, and feature the last of the poles outside and a smaller one inside.
This is one of a series of eight posts about the Haida Heritage Centre, the others can be found through this link.
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The final pole outside is free standing at the beach edge and represents the village of T’aanuu Llnagaay, usually shortened to Tanu. The Centre’s website includes the following information about this pole:
Location: standing forward on the beach
Carver: Giitsxaa (Ron Wilson)
Clan: St’awas Xaaydagaay (Screech Owl or Witch People of Cumshewa)
Assistants: Victoria Moody and PJ Ellis
The figures from bottom to top:
• SGaana or Killer Whale
• Xuuya or Raven
• Guujii or Wolf
• K’aaxada or Dogfish
• Guud or Eagle
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Inside the museum, at the entrance to the galleries beyond which no photos are allowed, stands a small pole by Bill Reid. He was a very important figure in the revival of Haida carving arts and thus the teaching house is named for him in this Centre. The label for this pole (stuck on the wall on a battered bit of white card which I edited it out of the image) tells us that this is the Wolf Raven Pole, carved in 1964.
Entrance to exhibits – no photos beyond this point.
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Haida language street signs are a fairly recent phenomena that we met in both Skidegate and Massett. They are part of the concerted effort by the Haida to encourage the use of their language among the younger people.
View from road with Haida place and street names
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Parts of the museum building, rear side
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To open larger versions of the images below, click on any one of them, use the arrows to navigate and escape to return to this page.
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- From Haida Heritage Centre Website https://burntembers.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/pole-locations-map.jpg
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- Parts of the museum building, rear side
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- Ferns beside the main entry
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- This was in a crate in the hallway in the museum, probably the top of an old pole
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- Entrance to exhibits – no photos beyond this point.
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- Killer whale group detail west side
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- North side detail killer whale group
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- South side detail killer whale group
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- Killer whale group detail south side
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- Killer whale group detail east side base
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- Killer whale
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- Looking east from museum
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- In front of Welcome and Eating houses
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- From Beach
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- View from road with Haida place and street names
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- View from road to Skidegate
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Canon 5Dii, Nikkor-N (pre-AI) 24mm f2.8 lens and Canon 50mm/f1.4 lens.
burnt embers 
Your compositions are absolutely perfect. What a way to convey the sense of actually being there! There is no doubt we’re going to head up there the very first chance we get. All thanks to you, my friend.
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Thanks so much Toad, and if I have inspired you to go travelling, what better compliment is there? Thank you again.
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This has been another really interesting set of images; looking forward to the next series 🙂
David.
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Hi David – series of images tend to come when I get out on a bit of a trip. None planned now, other than a day to Vancouver, so it could be dribs and drabs around Greater Victoria for months now. Sorry about that.
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This has been a wonderful educational series… My wife and I so want to see the Pacific Northwest!
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The PNW is here and waiting for your visit. There is a great deal of this kind of thing to see, though this is probably the premier facility of its kind, there are many places with fantastic NWC art, and scenery to die for.
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Me parece un sitio tan hermoso …. 🙂
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Thank you – my wife translates for me: Espero que algun dia se lo conoces tu.
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Thank you both 🙂
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Beautiful detail on the poles. Nice work.
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Thanks Ken – I really like the details on northwest coast poles – there are so many simple but perfect forms in the designs.
Looking at these a day or two later and I am thinking I over processed some – learning curve still pretty steep on LR4.
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Thank you for this series. So many of these photos evoke the feelings of the place while others give the sense of the purpose behind it. Wonderfully presented and beautifully shot.
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Thank you so much Paula. It is a pretty special place (just the bay on its own) and for once a building has been put in a beautiful spot without making it seem ruined.
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