An 800-year-old tree thatB次元官网网址檚 been lying in the woods near Bamfield for over 50 years will now get a second life as a part of a UN project.
The Huu-ay-aht People gifted the 40,000-pound red cedar to the First Nations Education Foundation (FNEF). It will be taken to Port Alberni and carved by master carver, Tim Paul, into a Language Revitalization Pole in recognition of the UN 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages. Upon completion, the pole will be moved to a prominent site at the University of Victoria.
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The entire moving and carving process B次元官网网址� including story telling, teaching and community involvement B次元官网网址� will be documented in photo and film. This footage will be used in tool kits for distribution to the 11,000 UNESCO Associated School Network in over 180 countries to teach people about Indigenous culture and language.
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B次元官网网址淩ecording, filming and documenting the language and storiesB次元官网网址� it was never that easy for our people. ThatB次元官网网址檚 not the way the Indigenous people were, B次元官网网址� said Les Doiron, chief executive officer of the FNEF and elected president of the Yuu艂u蕯i艂蕯ath Government (the Ucluelet First Nation). B次元官网网址淭here are threats facing Indigenous languages around the world, and thereB次元官网网址檚 an urgent need to advance reconciliation and to preserve and promote language and culture through innovative solutions.B次元官网网址�
| An outline of the Language Revitalization Pole shows eight of the 11 Nuu-Chah-Nulth relatives who will be present on the pole. (File contributed/ FNEF) |
Doiron said the First Nations peoples of the West Coast were always visual story tellers, and that totems are traditionally sacred additions to the family.
B次元官网网址淎 totem tells a story, you erect it and itB次元官网网址檚 there for the world to see and view,B次元官网网址� Doiron said. B次元官网网址淭his pole will not only help bring a shift the Canadian mindset, but be available whether youB次元官网网址檙e a student at UVic or a tourist traveling to see it.B次元官网网址�
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Nuu-chah-nulth artist Tim Paul has chosen stories and themes which help explain the bonds between language and art. It will encompass 10 relatives of the Nuu-chah-nulth people: the sky, sun, moon, mountains, rivers, lakes, land, sea, wind and stars.
B次元官网网址淗e will also add an eleventh relative: the earthquake, sent to teach humility and remind human beings of the all-encompassing power of the Creator,B次元官网网址� Doiron said.
The Language Revitalization Pole will stand 70 feet tall when complete, with a target completion date of November 2019.
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