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| Our Process | |||||||||
| The Journey | |||||||||
| Our Learning | |||||||||
| Cultural Treasures | |||||||||
| Respecting Our Ancestors | |||||||||
| End of Mourning Ceremony | |||||||||
| Documentaries | |||||||||
| Contact and Contributions | |||||||||
BUTTERFLY DESIGN
The idea of the butterfly was brought to our attention by the
Late Margaret Hewer. The butterfly represents the messenger
of the departed souls. It is also said to be a symbol of the traveling
Spirits, those departed and misplaced that are wandering about.
The design was created by the Late Brad Collinson and adopted
by our committee as our logo.
LABORATORY OF ARCHAEOLOGY
In March 1999, a delegation of approximately twenty Haida traveled to Vancouver, BC, where we were joined by many relatives and friends to repatriate the remains of six Haida ancestors from the University of British Columbia’s Laboratory of Archaeology. These ancestors originate
from Tlell, Peril Cove, Lawn Hill, Copper Bay and Kung, and were removed between 1957 and 1981 through archaeological surveys of ancient sites that became exposed by development or erosion. Until the late 1990’s, it was common practice to remove ancestral remains from burial sites and send them off to various archaeological labs. Today, there is a Discovery of Human Remains Protocol, developed by the Council of the Haida Nation and the Haida Repatriation Committee which prevents this from happening.
UBC MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY
The UBC Museum of Anthropology (MoA) has over 1000 treasures attributed to the Haida. It is a museum well known for it’s Great
Hall, where ancient poles from different Coastal Nations, including
the Haida, tower over ancient beautiful boxes, mandas and other monumental works. The Haida have been working with MoA for years on various projects, such as the “Haida village” which can be found
on the outside grounds, as well as internships, and exhibitions. Most recently we are in the very early stages of negotiating the return
of some of our treasures.
UBC MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY