| "We can find in these amazingly crisp [photographic] images an immediately
comprehensible record of the major accomplishments of the Haidas, who, through their genius, ingenuity,
dedication, and energy, transcended their lack of numbers and sophisticated technical resources and
organization to make an outstanding contribution to the sum of human achievement. Of course, when these pictures were made, the great days of the Haidas were already over. The occasional human to be seen was one of a tragically small remnant to survive the destruction of their people. What we see are the ghosts of villages, homes of ghost people. Even the great heraldic beasts, monsters, and humans of the totem poles are now ghosts. But what lively, powerful ghosts those old demigods still are, and the raven at least seems alive, well, and waiting." -Bill Reid |
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In 1966 the National Museum of Man launched a major program of
prehistoric research on the northern coast of British Columbia, a project which was carried out over two
decades. An important part of that program was the mapping and recording of the major villages of the Haida
on the Queen Charlotte Islands. In Chief of the Sea and Sky, archaeologist George F. MacDonald
provides an overview of this extensive research on the Haida. He recounts the history of eighteen of the
major villages, telling the story of their people and describing the site of their houses and other known
structures. In his introduction, he explains how the Haida's immense cedar houses and totem poles are part of
a fascinating spiritual and material culture which integrates family, history, ritual, and mythology.
The numerous historical photographs which accompany the text illustrate the richness and variety of Haida
sculpture; they show the villages at the height of their glory in the 1880s and 1890s and in their subsequent
and tragic decay. George F. MacDonald is director of the Canadian Museum of Civilization. He is the author of Haida Monumental Art |
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