Ever since first laying eyes on Klemtu’s Big House, I’ve wanted to get inside. In a First Nations village on a remote area of the British Columbia coast like this one, it’s better to wait for an invitation. This year it comes. Alan, who’s just helped us at the fuel dock, checks to see if I’ve had a tour when I go up the ramp to pay. When he hears I haven’t he makes me write down the phone number of Shane Robinson, who will show me around. “Or you can just call him on VHF, Channel 6,” he adds.
Rather than depend on electronics, I figure I’ll just walk around the village until I find Shane. I see a young woman and an old man chatting in front of the health center. No sooner do I ask if they’ve seen Shane, than a car passes and they yell, “Shane!” He doesn’t hear, but the word is out.
I continue up the hill in the company of the old Indian, who’s heading home. Slowly with a limp. “There’re wolves around the Big House these days,” he says with a smile. “Used to be black bears there but now it’s wolves.” I ask about the Spirit Bear. “Has anyone seen one recently?” Also known as Kermode bears, these rare individuals have white coats but are related to black bears. “They live on the smaller islands now. The brown bears have chased them off the bigger islands.”
I bid farewell to the old Indian at his house and keep going up the hill, thinking how nicely Klemtu snuggles among the mountains around its small bay. The road continues beyond the village past a construction site for an expanded water treatment facility. Soon a car is beside me. It’s Shane Robinson. “Why don’t you meet me at the Big House at 6:30?” Because of this construction, the electricity is off but it will be back on then.” Agreed.
Klemtu nestles against steep mountain, protected from open ocean. This is their Big House.I wait for Shane in front of the back door, where I identify Raven, Eagle, Whale and…..Wolf. I figure that the old Indian must be a Wolf.Shane goes in the back door but sends me around to the front. I wonder if this is going to be a “canned” presentation. The watchman who guards the front door to Klemtu’s Big House is an important part of a story that unfolds in a lovely way. In the watchman’s hands are two coppers, one for the Kitasoo and one for the Xai Xais, the two bands that founded Klemtu.Finally we enter. The interior is breathtakingly beautiful. I understand why Shane wanted the the scene lit properly. In the middle is soft clean sand for the dancers. A real fire is lit in the pit and the smoke wafts up through the open smoke hole.The carving of the winged totem poles is particularly fine. Three dimentional with a contemporary feel. Ah, look at those teeth. Nor Raven, Eagle nor Whale. Must be Wolf.The seating on either side is all fine woodwork. I ask about the railings. Is that where the children sit? Nope, that’s the press box: space for video cameras on tripods. The Raven totem is in the background.Distinctive to the Kitsaloo Xie Xie is the twin finned killer whale. I hadn’t noticed that on the back door. Killer whales have only one fin.Here’s Shane with the Twin Fin Whale totem. We’re about an hour into the tour now and it’s getting really interesting. He tells me about his grandfather and grandmother. They raised him and when his grandfather died he passed on his title of Hereditary Chief to Shane. Now he takes care of his grandmother, who needs special care.This is a mystery to me. This looks like a totem waiting to be carved but it’s overly trimmed. Plus a Big House doesn’t normally double as a carving shed. Shane has me guess; eventually he points our the decorated sticks lying around. This is a drum that can be play by up to 20 people. It sits in a special space behind the Whale and Eagle totems not far from where the dancers in their regalia enter the Big House. As I understand it, this communal drum is an innovation.On either side of the totems on the south side of the building are the doors from backstage. The people playing the log drum sit behind the wooden panel.Backstage in one corner is a dressing room with some of the regalia. This fine mast sits on a pile of red cedar bark, a mainstay of most Coastal Northwest tribes. Formerly woven into garments, today it is most often seen in the conical hats worn by many different Native peoples from Washington to Alaska.Klemtu doesn’t have a museum but a larger room “backstage” has a variety of objects, including gifts from other tribes and even pews and objects from a decommissioned church in another village. Here’s another great mask.This fine small piece of Native art from another village catches my eye. Shane said he hadn’t read it properly until a visitor pointed it out.While cedar bark often adorns masks elsewhere, the braid topping this eagle mask may be distinctive to Klemtu.This Raven mask is really fine. Thank you, Shane, for opening my eyes to your culture, history and values. Now that I’ve finally posted these photos, I need to find your phone number and text the link. I will count on you to set straight anything I got wrong.
3 responses to “Visiting Klemtu’s Big House with a Hereditary Chief”
Barb Trevvett
I became enthralled with coast natives and their art while touring BC back in 2008 and again in 2010. I was able to gain some knowledge from a museum in Prince Rubert and a bit more on a day trip to Haida Gwai. What a treat this private tour must have been for you! Thank you so much for sharing it.
My name is Ross Neasloss-Hess, and I come from Klemtu – I really enjoy your article, however, there are some spelling mistakes within it.
The correct spelling is Kitasoo Xai Xai’s.
Also, it would be a lot more polite if you changed the “Old Indian” to “local Indigenous elder” or “First Nations Elder” are some great alternatives. The term “Indian” is a bit dated and may be offensive to some.
Who was the artist on the print titled Nati ity that was pictured in your blog about the Klemtu Bighouse and what village was he from? I would love to get some info on it as my friend Marty Ettinger has a print of this numbered 105 of 150.
Baggywrinkles Blog shares stories, adventures, and reflections from the Pacific Northwest’s waterways. Explore cruising journeys, local life, and nature-inspired insights designed to inspire you to step off the shore, embrace the unknown, and find your own adventure.
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