Tsonoqua (Wild Woman of the Woods) Mask by Wayne Alfred – Kwakwaka’wakw (Namgis). At Spirit Wrestler Gallery in Vancouver, BC, Canada
“Wayne Alfred was born in 1958 in Alert Bay (on Cormorant Island — about 3 kilometres off the Northeast coast of Vancouver Island). Alert Bay remains one of the most important artistic and culture centres on the Northwest Coast. Its isolated location protected the community from much of the effects of assimilation and remained not only a heritage village but also one of the most continually developing cultural areas on the coast. It is the home of the largest free standing totem pole in the world and the U’mista Cultural Centre which houses a major historic collection which had been returned from major museums as part of the changes to the Cultural appropriation legislation of the Federal Government.”
https://www.spiritwrestler.com
About Lloyd Kahn
Lloyd Kahn started building his own home in the early '60s and went on to publish books showing homeowners how they could build their own homes with their own hands. He got his start in publishing by working as the shelter editor of the
Whole Earth Catalog with Stewart Brand in the late '60s. He has since authored six highly-graphic books on homemade building, all of which are interrelated. The books, "The Shelter Library Of Building Books," include
Shelter,
Shelter II (1978),
Home Work (2004),
Builders of the Pacific Coast (2008),
Tiny Homes (2012), and
Tiny Homes on the Move (2014). Lloyd operates from Northern California studio built of recycled lumber, set in the midst of a vegetable garden, and hooked into the world via five Mac computers. You can check out videos (one with over 450,000 views) on Lloyd by doing a search on YouTube:
I've been to Alert Bay twice, once about twenty years ago and once a few years back. If anything, it is less built up. The totem poles in their cemetery are beautiful and they have a museum with artifacts to explore. In summer there are a few "tourist" spots like B&Bs and restaurants, but not much else. It seems even boaters only stop for supplies. I love the quite beauty and historic First Nations emphasis. But one day Oprah arrived and everyone went crazy. They may be remote, but not cut off from the world. – Margy
Dzonoqua has always given me the shivers! Emily Carr writes about being surprised by an encounter with a Dzonoqua carving when alone in an abandoned village.
I also visited Alert Bay just a "few" years ago. Much more energy than on Malcolm Island, we thought. Just driving off the ferry, you notice there is more of a bustle. I do wish the mask write-up mentioned that Alert Bay is on Cormorant Island, not Vancouver Island.
KatR,
Thanks for the correction about where Alert Bay is. I changed in posting.
Lloyd