Nisga'a

The Nisga'a live on the Nass river and where it flows to sea - the Portland Inlet - is the northernmost part of the Canadian west coast. About a thousand years ago, part of their land was overrun by lava in the most recent volcanic lava flow in Canada. Ravens stopped the lava from flowing as far as one of their villages. The result has been covered in lichen and has a number of plants growing in it.

Recently their artifacts have been repatriated from two museums, and the collection is housed in a new museum in their oldest village. The museum was built tall enough to house a totem pole that was taken from them shortly after it was carved in the 1800s, so it is in mint condition. The main reason I am going this way to Alaska was to see the lava beds and the museum. I was expecting the museum to be shut, but the curator had said that I could come anyway, and she gave me an absolutely marvellous tour of the museum. Inside the museum is a long house, with the front carved and painted to match one of their original long houses as depicted in a watercolour. The doorway is a specially made button blanket - which is traditional for the area, as they didn't have actual doors.

The masks are all from the 1800s, but the costumes have been made to fit.

There were several Sharman aprons on display. One had puffin beaks, which would have been traded from Vancouver or further south (puffins don't live this far north). But this one has goat hoofs, each carved to represent a canid, and from before the traders arrived.

There were a few black bears on my way - a mother and her cub, one that caused me to stop in the middle of the road because it was crossing, and two others, so I have now seen eleven! I think the cats I keep on seeing are Canadian Lynx - I've seen five so far.

And my site tonight? Again it has two views of mountains. Not bad, when you consider that it has been raining all day.