Nan Sdins

Spirits of Haida Gwaii
You will find this magical place 130 kilometres off the British Columbia coast. The Queen Charlotte islands are also known as the "Haida Gwaii" of Place of Wonder by the Haida nation which has lived here for the past 10,000 years.

The islands offered the Haida a temperate climate, an abundance of food and plenty of shelter. This left the Haida with plenty of leisure time which they dedicated to their unique art. They developed a bold artistic style and used it to decorate their houses, canoes, masks and totem poles. The Haida made up the most sophisticated hunter-gather society the world has ever known.
But in the early 19th Century, European sailing ships arrived in this 138-island archipelago and brought with them smallpox. The ensuing outbreak of disease decimated the Haida, reducing their 7,000-strong population by 70 per cent. In the village of Nunsting, the 30 survivors left out of 300 Haida commemorated their dead with the mortuary totem poles. The poles weighed four tons and measured up to 14 metres high.

Each person's remains were placed in a hollow in the top of the pole which was carved and painted with images about their life. A figure known as a “watchman” was carved at the top of the pole to keep watch over the village and the handful of people left. The poles were ranged along the beach facing the ocean which had always assured them their livelihood but ultimately their demise.

Today the Nunsting poles are recognized as the finest in the world and was awarded the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site recognition in 1981. The Haida people now numbering 3,200 are the “living” watchmen protecting their ancestors' rich heritage at 500 different historic sites.