Spirit of Haida Gwaii

The Spirit of Haida Gwaii is a sculpture by British Columbia Haida artist Bill Reid (1920-1998). It is featured on the Canadian $20 bill.

Background

The sculpture was originally created in 1986 as a 1/6-scale clay model, enlarged in 1988, to full-size clay. In 1991, the model was cast in bronze. This first bronze casting was entitled The Spirit of Haida Gwaii, the Black Canoe and is now displayed outside the Canadian Embassy in Washington D.C. The second bronze casting, entitled The Spirit of Haida Gwaii, the Jade Canoe, was first displayed at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in 1994. Finally, in 1995, the "Jade Canoe" (as it is generally called) was moved to the International Terminal at Vancouver International Airport, where it remains today.

A plaster copy of the sculpture is on display in the main hall of the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

The Sculpture

The Spirit of Haida Gwaii is intended to represent the Aboriginal heritage of the Haida Gwaii region in Canada's Queen Charlotte Islands. In green-coloured bronze on the Vancouver version and black-coloured on the [http://www.dcmemorials.com/index_indiv0000355.htm Washington version] , it shows a traditional Haida cedar dugout canoe which totals six metres in length. The canoe carries the following passengers: the Raven, the traditional trickster of Haida mythology, holding the steering oar; the Mouse Woman, crouched under Raven's tail; the Grizzly Bear, sitting at the bow and staring toward Raven; the Bear mother, Grizzly's human wife; their cubs, Good Bear (ears pointed forward) and Bad Bear (ears pointed back); Beaver, Raven's uncle; Dogfish Woman; the Eagle; the Frog; the Wolf, claws imbedded in Beaver's back and teeth in Eagle's wing; a small human paddler in Haida garb known as the Ancient Reluctant Conscript; and, at the sculpture's focal point, the human Shaman (or "Kilstlaai" in Haida), who wears the Haida cloak and woven spruce root hat and holds a tall staff carved with the Seabear, Raven and Killer whale.Consistent with Haida tradition, the significance of the passengers is highly symbolic. The variety and interdependence of the canoe's occupants represents the natural environment on which the ancient Haida relied for their very survival: the passengers are diverse, and not always in harmony, yet they must depend on one another to live. The fact that the cunning trickster, Raven, holds the steering oar is likely symbolic of nature's unpredictability.The sculpture is 6 metres (20 feet) long, not quite 4 metres (13.2 feet) from the base to the top of the Shaman's staff, and weighs nearly 5000 kilograms (11,000 pounds).

External links

* [http://www.yvr.ca/guide/todo/art/spirit.asp Vancouver International Airport: The Spirit of Haida Gwaii page]
* [http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/can-am/washington/services/haida-en.asp Foreign Affairs Canada: The Spirit of Haida Gwaii page]