This past August marked a momentous event on Haida Gwaii, the 10^th anniversary of the raising of the Gwaii Haanas Legacy Pole at HIk’yah GawGa Windy Bay. It was a stirring opportunity for islanders to look back at the pole, its story, and what made its raising so special – a monument to a historic victory by the Haida people in 1985 in their protest against unsustainable logging on Moresby Island.

The Gwaii Haanas Legacy Pole is a 42-foot monumental pole, the first such structure raised in the Gwaii Haanas region in over 130 years, and it serves as a connection with the historic poles still standing in the villages of SGang Gwaay and K’uuna Llnagaay Skedans. In Haida tradition, after they are carved, danced and raised, monumental poles become living members of the community that tell stories and history.

The lead Carver was Kayd guudang Jaalen Edenshaw, and his assistants were Kiidagaay K’uunas Gwaai Edenshaw and Stl’inga Tyler York. Jaalen draws his inspiration from the language, the stories and the natural world of Haida Gwaii.

The Legacy Pole was carved in 2013 to commemorate the 20^th anniversary of the Gwaii Haanas Agreement, which established a unique management relationship between the Haida Nation and the Government of Canada. An equal number of Haida Nation and Government of Canada representatives manage Gwaii Haanas through the Archipelago Management Board, renowned throughout the world as a model for cultural and natural resource governance.

The pole’s “Land, Sea, People” themed design is inspired by the connections between the Haida Nation and all those who take care of Gwaii Haanas, from mountain top to seafloor.

Visitors, archaeologists, Haida Gwaii Watchmen, Haida Ravens and Eagles, those who participated in protests at Athlii Gwaii Lyell Island are all represented in the design.

Hlk’yah GawGa is a Haida village site on Athlii Gwaii, the location of the historic stance the Haida people took against logging on Haida Gwaii. Protesters set up a blockade in 1985 to prevent companies from pushing farther south down Moresby Island. On Oct. 30, Kilslaay Kaajii Sding Miles Richardson, then president of the Council of the Haida Nation, wearing a traditional button blanket, led a non-violent blockade of a logging road on Athlii Gwaii. “We will not be pushed aside in our own homelands and told that our interests are not worthy of consideration.”

Over the next three months, Haida community members and their allies stood their ground. As recounted in British Columbia: An Untold History (The Knowledge Network): “Seventy-two blockaders were arrested, including several Indigenous Elders. But the Haida succeeded in defending the forest.”

A notable detail on the Legacy Pole for many is the gumboots worn by four of the five people standing together: this is to represent the brave people who held the line at the Athlii Gwaii blockade.

More than 400 people participated in the raising of the Legacy Pole in mid-August 2013, while another 400 watched via a live stream at the Haida Heritage Centre. A few days later, more than 700 people attended a community celebration to honour the event, as is done in the Haida tradition.

Hlk’yah GawGa is one of five Watchmen sites in Gwaii Haanas. The Haida Gwaii Watchmen Program serves to protect sacred areas in Gwaii Haanas, but also welcomes visitors to the Haida village sites and offer a first-hand introduction to Haida culture by sharing their knowledge of the land and sea, their stories, songs, dances and traditional foods. For many, meeting the Watchmen is their favourite part of a memorable trip. The Watchmen are themselves depicted on the Legacy Pole, as is often the case on Haida monumental poles.

Story submitted by Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve and Haida Heritage Site.