- Guujaaw
Guujaaw, full name Giindajin Haawasti Guujaaw, also known as Gary Edenshaw, is a Canadian wood carver, musician,
traditional medicine practitioner and politicalactivist . He is an Indigenous of theHaida and was born at Masset inHaida Gwaii , into the Raven clan.Beginning in the 1970s, he was in the forefront of efforts to protect traditional Haida land from destruction through
logging . Also in the 1970s, he became an assistant to celebrated Haida carverBill Reid . In the 1980s, Guujaaw led a renaissance of traditional Haida cultural arts in the form ofcanoes and longhouses.In the year 2000, he was elected President of
Council of the Haida Nation .In late June 2006, it was revealed that he will be awarded with a major North American award, the Buffett Award for Indigenous Leadership, on July 19 in Portland, Oregon. Ecotrust will present him with $25,000 in recognition of his many devoted years to the political, cultural and environmental advancement of the
Haida First Nation . [ [http://ecotrust.org/buffettaward/2006/guujaaw.html 2006 Buffett Awardee: Guujaaw ] ]Quote
"Haida culture is not simply song and dance, graven images, stories, language or even blood. It is all of those things and then...waking up on Haida Gwaii anticipating the season when the herring spawns. It is a feeling you get when you bring a feed of cockles to the old people, and when you are fixing up fish for the smokehouse, or when walking on barnacles or moss.
It is about being confronted with winter storms and trying to look after this precious place. All that we say is ours is of Haida Gwaii. This is our lot, our heritage, our life...and one of the world's great cultures." -- Guujaaw
Major events involving Guujaaw
*In 2005 Guujaaw led a confrontation of the Haida Nation and the international forest products corporation,
Weyerhaeuser . [ [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/220864_protest20.html Haida open Seattle front in forest fight ] ]*Haida culture was showcased at the First International Forum of United Indigenous Peoples, held in Pau, France, during June 2006. [ [http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2006/06/19/haida-conference.html CBC.ca Arts - Haida 'front and centre' at indigenous people's conference ] ]
*In 2007 a public-private partnership funded the conservation of the Great Bear Rainforest. [ [http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2007/2007-02-01-04.asp Spirit Bear Rainforest Conservation Funded ] ]
Books and articles that include accounts of Guujaaw
*"The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed", By John Vaillant. W. W. Norton & Co. 2005.
*"David Suzuki: The Autobiography",David Suzuki . Greystone Books. 2006.References
External links
* [http://www.qcislands.net/guujaaw/Bio.html Biography of Guujaaw]
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