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Web Paddling
Windows on the Past
We all use 21st century technology
every day and our world seems like
a technological marvel with the advent of
modern materials—plastics and resins, metals,
and silicon.
To me, no less amazing and even perhaps
more so, is the technology that
ancient peoples were able to create from
the environment around them. Having only
local stone, plants and animals as their raw
materials, they developed cultures with
sophisticated transportation, housing, medicine
and tools to survive and thrive in all
corners of this planet. Some of their technology
has withstood the test of time, like
the canoe and kayak, while the art of native
cultures is enjoying a renaissance.
Watercraft are of particular interest to us,
and The Canadian Museum of Civilization
(www.civilization. ca/aborig/watercraft/
wainteng.html) offers some interesting
reading about native kayaks, umiaks, bark
and dugout canoes.
The Canadian Canoe Museum (www.
canoemuseum.net) houses the largest collection
of canoes and kayaks in the world,
featuring over 600 watercraft, with more
than a third of native origin.
The Virtual Museum (www.virtual
museum.ca/Exhibitions/Traditions/English/)
has two articles, one about the canoe and
kayak, while the other is about the Coast
Salish Canoe Racing which takes place at
festivals on the west coast every summer.
The Coast Salish live in southern British
Columbia and Washington State.
In my web searching for this issue, I starting
reading about native legends. For years
I had a ‘dreamcatcher’ next to my bed, yet
knew little of its significance. According to
legend, dreams are messages from sacred
spirits. It is said that the hole in the center
of the web in the dreamcatcher allows the
good dreams through while bad dreams are
trapped in the web until they disappear in
the morning sun. You can also read about
the Legend of the Killer Whale; The Raven:
the Brave Warrior; The Thunderbird’s Story;
The Deer Who was a Wolf Slave; and many
more stories at www.nativeonline.com/
legends.htm.
For a glimpse into the early native culture
of the Pacific Northwest, I liked the Canadian
Museum of Civilization feature on
the Tsimshian Society and Culture
(www.civilization.ca/aborig/tsimsian/
intro02e.html). Most interesting to me were
the shamanism, wealth and rank, and women’s
and men’s activities sections. Also of
note were the exceptional photographs of
February/March 2003 www.WaveLengthMagazine.com
the people, their tools and their art. It is
worth visiting this site, even if only to see
the photos.
For further exploration, a good place to
start is the Virtual Library—American Indians
(www.hanksville.org/NAresources)
which is home to a vast array of links to
Native American resources. For example,
by clicking on ‘Culture’, you are presented
with links to hundreds of Tribe/Nations from
the US, Canada and Latin America. By
clicking on ‘Artists’ you have hundreds of
links to painters, carvers, potters, jewellers,
weavers, etc. Other sections include History,
Language, and Indigenous knowledge.
If you missed them the first time, or want
to read them again, the August/September
2001 issue and the February/March 2000
issue of WaveLength magazine have many
articles about the native cultures of the Pacific
Northwest. You can read those articles
on-line by going to our Back Issues index
at www.wavelengthmagazine.com/magazine
02.php.
I’m off to Costa Rica for the month of February,
but I’ll be back in time for the next
issue. Until then, the (web) surf’s up! ❏
3rd Annual
Port Angeles
Kayak Symposium
April 11-13, 2003
Clinics for Whitewater
and Sea Kayakers,
Demos, Gear Swap
and much more!
www.raftandkayak.com
click on special events
Call 888.452.1443
Organized by
Olympic Raft & Kayak
© Ted Leather is
WaveLength’s Webmaster
and operates an internet
services company
specializing in website
design and management
(ted@clayrose.com).
KAYAK RENTALS
BROKEN GROUP
ISLANDS
AND
BARKLEY SOUND
UP TO 8 SCHEDULED
TRIPS PER WEEK
FROM PORT ALBERNI
RATES
$35 per day Singles
$50 per day Doubles
SECHART WHALING
STATION LODGE
Rooms & Meals from $70
per person per day
based on 2 night minimum
RATES SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Water Taxi Service
from Toquart Bay
For pickup ph: 250-720-7358
For More Information
Phone: 250-723-8313
Fax: 250-723-8314
Ted Leather
B/W
M.V. Lady Rose & M.V. Frances Barkley
located at Argyle Pier,
5425 Argyle St., Port Alberni, BC
CANADA V9Y 1T6
TOLL FREE RESERVATIONS
(April-Sept.) 1-800-663-7192
www.ladyrosemarine.com
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