Saturday, June 28, 2008
Cheri June-27-08
1:09 AM | 
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
This is the first day of our tour and we car pooled to the village of Kispiox about 9 miles from our campsite. Spike narrated the trip. He told us about the wild flowers and trees along the way. When we arrived we went to the Totem Park and he explained the meanings & history of all the totem poles there.
The totem poles are made out of Red Cedar and they commission someone out of their own clan to carve the poles. They are paid for by giving the carver goods for his work. Each pole represented a different clan of people.
The poles can get up to over 180yrs old and when they fall they leave them lay right where they land, even if it means stepping over them.
On the way back I spotted a black bear chewing on the plants along the road. Spike backed up for us so we could all get some pictures.
We were back in the campsite by noon for lunch then we met at 2pm to take the Ksan Historic Village & Totem tour.
Spike took us on a path down to the where the rivers meet and explained about the movement & erosion of the river.
We then headed on over to the Ksan Village and got a personal tour of the grounds. We went into the Frog House where up to as many as 60 people in a family would share one house. Next was the Wolf House where meetings and other gatherings were held. There were all kinds of artifacts of their culture displayed in these buildings.
The third building was the Fireweed House which held all their regalia and costumes for the presentations they put on during the summer. Much of it dated back years & years. They are keeping their history and customs alive for all to see.
Outside you could also see a spirit house that was erected over the site where someone was buried, a smoke house and a building constructed high in the air to store meats away from the bears. Gay also got pictures of a totem pole being made to display on the grounds.
The museum was our last stop. It had all kinds of artifacts used by the clans along with a new section upstairs devoted solely to totem poles. Everything was so interesting.
At 5:15 we headed down to the clan house for our pot luck. Spike had cooked fresh King Salmon with a brown sugar glaze on it and we all brought a dish to pass. The salmon was fabulous. What a meal! What a wide variety of food.
Spike gave us the rest of the information regarding our travels and then we all headed back to our units and started the preparations for heading out tomorrow.
Gay has uploaded pictures for the day. See album: Kispiox- Ksan Village
The totem poles are made out of Red Cedar and they commission someone out of their own clan to carve the poles. They are paid for by giving the carver goods for his work. Each pole represented a different clan of people.
The poles can get up to over 180yrs old and when they fall they leave them lay right where they land, even if it means stepping over them.
On the way back I spotted a black bear chewing on the plants along the road. Spike backed up for us so we could all get some pictures.
We were back in the campsite by noon for lunch then we met at 2pm to take the Ksan Historic Village & Totem tour.
Spike took us on a path down to the where the rivers meet and explained about the movement & erosion of the river.
We then headed on over to the Ksan Village and got a personal tour of the grounds. We went into the Frog House where up to as many as 60 people in a family would share one house. Next was the Wolf House where meetings and other gatherings were held. There were all kinds of artifacts of their culture displayed in these buildings.
The third building was the Fireweed House which held all their regalia and costumes for the presentations they put on during the summer. Much of it dated back years & years. They are keeping their history and customs alive for all to see.
Outside you could also see a spirit house that was erected over the site where someone was buried, a smoke house and a building constructed high in the air to store meats away from the bears. Gay also got pictures of a totem pole being made to display on the grounds.
The museum was our last stop. It had all kinds of artifacts used by the clans along with a new section upstairs devoted solely to totem poles. Everything was so interesting.
At 5:15 we headed down to the clan house for our pot luck. Spike had cooked fresh King Salmon with a brown sugar glaze on it and we all brought a dish to pass. The salmon was fabulous. What a meal! What a wide variety of food.
Spike gave us the rest of the information regarding our travels and then we all headed back to our units and started the preparations for heading out tomorrow.
Gay has uploaded pictures for the day. See album: Kispiox- Ksan Village
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