Vancouver Island » The Sites & Cultural Tours

Route of the Totems Pole
Admission: $free
Address: Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal, Swartz Bay

First prize in The Route of Totems contest was awarded for this pole created by Henry Hunt. In front of the Tswassen ferry terminals coffee shop is an unpainted carving of a Grizzly Bear and a Whale and one of the three poles he created, for the Route of the Totems. The carver’s son believes this is the finest piece his father carved; he calls it a state of the art Kwakiutl carving. On this powerful pole is the Grizzly Bear of the Sea and on its chest rests the Killer Whales head with it’s fins on each side. The blow-hole is represented by an upside-down head and the designs carved into the tail form a face.

Route of the Totems Pole
Admission: $free
Address: Sydney, Washington State ferry terminal

Passengers arriving in Sydney off the ferry from Washington State are greeted by a Route of the Totems Pole carved by Tony Hunt. It is located on the top of a sloping flower bed with the words “Welcome to Sydney. This little seaside village, 10 minutes from the Swartz Bay ferry terminal is worth stopping at and exploring. Tony had been working on a replica Gitksan pole that had a large frog on it at the Royal British Columbia Museum. For the Sydney pole he wanted to carve a powerful Bear and added a large Frog for the second figure. He has returned and restored the pole to its original appearance using his original colors of red, black, green and brown and has left a lot of natural wood showing.

Route of the Totems Pole
Admission: $free
Address: Inner Harbour, Government Street and Harbour Street

Henry Hunt, one of the fastest and best carvers of his time was commissioned to create this pole as well as the poles at Swartz Bay and Tswassen ferry terminals. This pole stands in the heart of downtown Victoria. These carvings perpetuate the memory of a great chief and an accomplished artist and carver. This much photographed pole has a powerful Bear capped by a Frog between its’ ears. The Bear is also holding a copper in its mouth and paws. At the base is a Hamatsa Dancer wearing the ceremonial red cedar bark head and neck rings. Of Henry Hunt’s six sons, four have continued in their fathers’ tradition, becoming distinguished carvers and artists.

Route of the Totems Pole
Admission: $free
Address: Royal British Columbia Museum, courtyard, 675 Belleville Street, Victoria

The courtyard in front of the Royal British Columbia Museum has a fine example of Richard Hunt, son of renowned carver Henry Hunt art work. The pole, commissioned by the museum and raised in 1979, uses crests that belong to the Hunt family.

At the top of the pole stands the supernatural bird Kolus, his claws grasping the head of a chief wearing a Sun Mask. The chief, holding a copper and wearing a cedar bark skirt stands on the head of a Bear. The man being held in front of the Bear is a childhood friend of the carver and lost a finger while the two were playing a reckless game with a sharp axe. The carvers likeness of his good friend is complete with a chopped finger.

Totem Pole
Admission: $free
Address: Royal British Columbia Museum, 675 Belleville Street, Victoria

Henry Hunt and Tony Hunt carved this replica Haida pole in 1966. The pole was first photographed in 1901, Emily Carr painted it in 1928 and the Royal British Columbia Museum collected it in 1966. This house frontal pole, a masterwork of the great carver Tanu is from the Queen Charlotte Islands. The pole carries three watchmen at the top of an Eagle with a crest of the owner’s wife below. Between the Eagles wings is the head of a Hawk or Owl and between the talons is a hair seal. The next figure is a crest of a woman with several different interpretations as a woman and a Sea chief. On the stomach is a Frog facing downward with a human grasping the tail of a Killer Whale. Another human is riding upside down on the Whale. The downward head of the Whale is the head of a Sea Bear, at the base of the pole. He is swallowing a whole sea mammal head first.

Totem Poles of Thunderbird Park
Admission: Free
675 Belleville Street, Victoria

At the heart of downtown Victoria in Beacon Hill Park is the site of a village that had been inhabited for thousands of years prior to the arrival of the colonial settlers in the 1840s. The first of the Coast Salish people arrived in this region shortly after the ice of the last glacial age had begun to retreat some 14,000 years ago. The history is evident in the petroglyphs that adorn the shoreline and in the middens of seashells mounded up beside the beaches on Strait of Juan de Fuca.

The park is home to what was once the tallest totem pole in the world. The 128-foot masterpiece was created by renowned Kwakwaka'wakw artist Mungo Martin in 1956, and lovingly restored to its original splendor in early 2002. This pole was the tallest in the world until Alert Bay laid claim to the title. The pole depicts an ancient legend of the artist’s family and tells the origin of the clan to which he belonged. Mungo Martin’s tall pole was the first time all of his clan’s crests had been brought together in one carving.

The park boasts two hundred acres with considerable areas of natural land in a native habitat. Most of the park is beautifully landscaped and manicured with bridges, lakes and ponds, and an alpine and rock garden with displays of exotic and native trees and bird sanctuaries. Attractions in the park include the Beacon Hill Children's Farm, sports fields and playgrounds and a band shell.

Located in the inner harbour area of Victoria a collection of ancient totems is on display, most are carved in the 1950's by famed Kwakwaka'wakw artist Mungo Martin. In 1940 a collection of totem poles and canoes from the provincial museum’s collection was displayed on three empty lots on the Inner Harbour. By 1951, the original poles were in advanced decay. Mungo Martin was hired to restore and replicate the totems and a carving shed was set up. There are seven poles that were carved by Richard Hunt, Gerry Marks, Tony Hunt with Henry Hunt, David Martin and Tim Paul.. With the exception of Mungo Martin's house front pole, all poles are replicas of the original poles in Thunderbird Park, replaced between 1951 and 1990. A new Kwakwaka'wakw pole was carved and raised in the park in 2000.

Mungo Martin (Chief NaKePenkim) was born in Prince Rupert in 1879, attended residential school only briefly and then starting apprenticing in carving with his stepfather, master carver Charles James. Martin is one of the Northwest Coast's most significant artists and mentors, who greatly contributed to the preservation of traditional Kwakwaka'wakw culture, and instigated its resurgence.

Martin restored poles and houseposts for the University of British Columbia's Museum of Anthropology and for the Provincial Museum of British Columbia, and was chief carver at the latter institution's Thunderbird Park. He also replicated and created new feast dishes, masks, dance screens and other objects of utilitarian and ceremonial uses, and recorded many of the oral histories, traditions and 400 songs he knew. Martin was posthumously awarded a medal by the Canada Council. He passed away in 1962.

Mungo Martin Big House
tel: 250.356.7226
Toll Free: 1-888-447-7977
Address: Royal British Columbia Museum, 675 Belleville Street, Victoria

Chief Peter Knox and family operate the Mungo Martin Big House located at the Royal British Columbia Museum, which is built on their family property. They offer cultural performances and share with the visitors the families inherited right to the ownership of the traditional Big House and meaning of their songs and dances.

Mungo Martin carved the half-scale replica of the Big House in which he was born, and to dedicate it, held the first public potlatch since the governmental potlatch ban was rescinded. The house is a copy of a big house built at Fort Rupert in the mid-1800s complete with carved house posts inside. On December 16, 1953 the house was opened with three days of ceremony and over fifty dancers, all belonging to Mungo Martins family lineage. Wawadit'la, (Big House) was later entrusted to the Royal BC Museum by the family of Kwakwaka'wakw Chief Mungo Martin. Until recently, Wawadit'la was reserved for traditional First Nations ceremonial gatherings and not open to the general public.

Royal British Columbia Museum
Admission: $12.50
tel: 250.356.7226
Toll Free: 1-888-447-7977
Address: 675 Belleville Street, Victoria

The Royal British Columbia Museum located in the Inner Harbour area of Victoria, presents one of the best collections of native artifacts, totem poles and greet figures ever preserved. Totem poles carved in the styles of aboriginal people through out British Columbia can be seen in Thunderbird Park, adjacent to the museum. There is a National Geographic IMAX Theatre located in the museum, open every day 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

The Royal BC Museum is at the corners of Belleville and Douglas Street, steps from Victoria's Inner Harbour, the Empress Hotel and across the street from BC's Legislative Buildings. This cultural precinct includes the BC Archives, Helmcken House, St. Ann's Schoolhouse, the Netherlands Carillon Tower, Thunderbird Park and Mungo Martin House, Wawadit'la.

Emily Carr House
Admission: $5
tel: 250.383.5843
www.emilycarrhouse.ca
Address: 207 Government Street, Victoria

One of Canada's most renowned creative figures, the restored family home of Emily Carr is an interpretive site dedicated to her life and work. A celebrated author and painter, she was born in this house on December 13, 1871. The house is within walking distance of the Inner Harbour and Beacon Hill Park.

Emily Carr is one of Canada's greatest and most loved artists. Feeling a spiritual connection with her subjects, Emily Carr painted both the landscape and native villages of Western Canada in a unique and modern style that was rejected during its time of production. The Nuu-chah-nulth gave her the name Klee Wyck, which means “the laughing one.” Her works are said to be expressive of a deep spiritual power that evolved from living amongst Aboriginals. After years of travel throughout the forests of British Columbia, failing health caused her to remain close to home where she wrote seven books based on her life. Today Emily Carr is highly regarded throughout the world and considered a national icon in Canada. Through reading her books and the study of her paintings one is able to grasp just how incredible this woman was.

In the spirit of Emily, the " Peoples' Gallery" features exhibitions of contemporary artists. Prints of Emily's paintings are always on display and available for sale, along with her books, in the gift shop.

Victoria Concierge Services

Rates: - $50 - $110

Telephone: 250-478-7785

Address:  Victoria area

Victoria Concierge Services offers professional concierge and personal assistant services for busy travellers and busy professionals visiting Victoria, BC.

Holiday and gift packages are made up of several personalized packages,
tell them what you like, what your interests are, how long you are in town,
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Visit their web site for more services www.VictoriaConciergeServices.com

Esquimalt Municipal Hall
Admission: free
tel: 250. 414.7100
Address: 1229 Esquimalt Road
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m

The Esquimalt Muncipal Hall has numerous artworks including the original Thunderbird and Orca/Killer Whale by Charles Elliot on display. The carving represents the legend of the Thunderbird and Orca/Killer Whale and is held sacred by all coast First Nations people and is a display of the balance of power which is the theme of this carving.

The Thunderbird is the mythical spiritual bird and the Orca is the physical ruler with the mighty power of the seaworld. The Thunderbird and Orca are always depicted in a struggle and represent the balance of power between the physical and spiritual worlds. The fist Nations people would call the Thunderbird through song, meditation and prayer to remove the Orca to distant waters so that the good fishing could return to the waters near the village. It was said in their legends that thunder claps could be heard from the flapping of the wings of the Thunderbird and lightning flashes from the blinking of the Thunderbird's eyes. The Orca is also a friend and a powerful wonder to the First Nations people. Orcas travel in family groups similar to wolves.

Victoria Harbour Ferry Co.
Admission: $7 - $20
tel: 250.708-0201
www.harbourferry.com
Address: 453 Head Street, Victoria, BC

Victoria Harbour Ferries offers a foot passenger tour and transportation service with a network of stops around the Inner Harbour. Visitors can board one of the passenger ferries and see Victoria's sights from the water.The 45 minute harbour tour or the 50 minute Gorge tour will entertain and inform visitors of all ages. Tours depart every 12 to 30 minutes March to October everyday.

The 45 minute Harbour Tour stops at a variety of docks including Fisherman's Wharf, Ocean Pointe Resort, Coast Harbourside Hotel, Songhees walkway, and West Bay Marina and Floating Village. The Marina has a great little café with friendly staff. The Ferry returns every one half hour so it’s possible to explore & get back aboard. Fisherman’s Wharf is a gem of a spot to visit & serves some of the freshest English Style Fish & Chips around.

The 55 minute Gorge Tour goes up the Gorge Waterway. This is a relaxing narrated tour passing by historic homes, shipyards, and always a variety of sealife. Visitors can step back in time and enjoy the views. The shipmasters are knowledgeable about the First Nations cultural activities in the Harbour and are a good resource.

Murals of Chemainus
Admission: free
tel: 250.246.3944
www.chemainus.bc.ca
Address: just off of Hwy 1 on Stuart Channel

This former sawmill town's most famous attractions are the huge murals painted on the walls of its downtown buildings. The paintings are images of real people, and life in the early years.

Painted on the sidewalks are large yellow footprints that provide a walking tour of the exhibits. The town boasts art galleries, craft shops, restaurants and other tourist facilities. From Chemainus, a twenty-five minute ferry ride will take you to a First Nations community of Kuyper, or to tiny Thetis Island.

In 1982, the first five murals were created - today there are 35 murals and 8 sculptures, attracting over 400,000 annual visitors to Chemainus. On the last weekend in June, take part in the annual "Festival of Murals", the celebration continues through the summer with outdoor theatre, puppetry, clowning, food booths, street music, folk dancing, arts and crafts demonstrations, and an annual giant swap meet.

Homalco Wildlife Tours
Grizzly Bear Viewing Guided Tour
Admission: $285
tel: 250.923.0758
Toll-free 866.234.BEAR (2327)
www.bearsofbute.com
Address: 1218 Bute Crescent, Campbell River

The Homalco First Nations invite their guests to share the beauty of the Bute Inlet and to view the mighty Grizzlies in their natural habitat. This is home to one of the largest concentrations of Grizzly Bears in B.C.

Homalco Wildlife Tours offers a unique First Nations experience combining a boat tour through marine waterways with a Grizzly bear watching tour in the traditional territory of the Homalco people.

The guided 5 1/2 hour tour departs from Discovery Harbor Marina with a spectacular marine tour before arriving at Homalco First Nations abandoned village and Orford Bay for the viewing of Grizzly Bears. Experience traditional cooked salmon over an open fire surrounded by the beauty of British Columbia. Guests will be chauffeured by van to the viewing platforms to watch Grizzly bears in their natural habitat feasting on salmon. As the salmon return to the river, it is not uncommon for up to 50 bears to be seen within five miles along the shoreline.

On the way and back, there is a chance to see Orca's, Seals, Doll's, porpoises, Stellar Sea Lions and Eagles. The tour guides share their history and culture on the tour.

Stewert Barnes is the Manager of Homalco Wildlife Tours in Campbell River and provides the guided Bears of Bute Grizzly Tours to visitors from Mid August through the end of October. Boat In - Fly Out Tours or Fly In - Boat Out Tours are offered from mid August through September.

Experience the ancient culture of the Homalco people, share their legends and listen to their stories. Take part in an adventure of a lifetime.

Quw'utsun' Cultural and Conference Centre
Admission: $13
Traditional salmon barbecue and performance: $35
tel: 1.877.746.8119
www.quwutsun.ca
Address: 200 Cowichan Way, Duncan

Quw'utsun' Cultural and Conference Centre, formerly the Cowichan Native Village, is one of the most popular attractions in the area and features cultural displays and demonstrations. The Centre provides entertainment for guests and First Nations people by reflecting the past and striving in the present to enhance the future of the Native cultures.

The Centre recreates the history and traditions of the coastal people in its buildings, displays and excellent presentations. Under the roof of a large carving shed, totem poles take shape, with visitors able to view work in progress. In summer visitors can watch the creation of the famous Cowichan sweaters as they are hand-knit in one piece, their unique patterns reflecting the knitter's family design (some even spin their own wool).

The facility contains a theater, carving shed, ceremonial clan house, restaurant, and art gallery, all dedicated to preserving traditional Cowichan history and culture. Visitors are treated to storytelling, and Cowichan artists and elders at work and an impressive display of native arts, books and crafts such as Cowichan hand-knit sweaters, beadwork and weaving.

The River Walk Café has an entirely First Nations menu serving a feast and afternoon tea.

The old ways were not written down, the teachings were passed down in the form of a story. There is much wisdom in Native Stories and this is an opportunity to hear from the Elders while they are still here with us.

The Totem Poles of Duncan
Admission: $free
tel: 250.715.1700
Address: Train Station Museum, 130 Canada Avenue, Duncan

This "City of Totems" is home to the Cowichan Native Band, the province's largest. Visitors will find nearly eighty beautifully carved totems throughout the city both downtown and along a half-kilometer section of the Trans-Canada Highway

The guided tours takes about 45 minutes and will give you a general introduction to the local Native Heritage and art of totem carving. Let knowledgeable guides recount the rich history and fascinating legends of the Northwest Coast natives.

You will also learn the many legends and myths that accompany each of the 26 poles featured such as the classic Raven Steals Light story, and the tale of Dzonoqua the Wild Woman of the Woods.

Among the tours highlights are Corky Baine's pole which depicts Rick Hansen's epic journey around the world, the celebrated work's of Simon Charlie, and Richard Hunt's Cedarman which is the world's largest pole in diameter, measuring 6' 7" around!

Visitors can take a free guided walking tour of Downtown Duncan's Totem Poles. Tours run from May 1st to September 3rd, 2005 and are offered every hour from 10 am to 2 pm, Monday through Saturday. (*except for the months of May, June and September when tours are offered every hour from 10 am to 1 pm) Reservations for groups of more than 5 people are appreciated.

Petroglyph Park
Admission: $free
Address: Trans Canada Highway

Petroglyph Provincial Park is located on Vancouver Island, on the east side of the Trans-Canada Highway, 2.5 miles (4 km) south of Nanaimo. Petroglyph Park is a chance for visitors to see 10,000-year-old Aboriginal stone carvings representing birds, humans and animals.

Called petroglyphs, these exquisite symbolic etchings are richly concentrated in the 2-hectare Petroglyph Park. The Rock carvings invite speculation, provoke thought and mystify all who view them. Though the exact meaning or purpose of petroglyphs has been lost to time, the indelibly etched figures speak of the search for harmony between humans and nature, between humans and the divine. The local natives call it Kinomagewapkong, meaning 'the rocks that teach.'

Locations for rock art carvings and paintings were carefully chosen. They were places of power or mystery; places where the forces of nature were believed to be especially strong. They are marked by unusual natural features such as waterfalls, rock formations or caves. Nearly all sites are near water and may also be near old village sites or along trails or ancient trade routes.

A short, wheelchair-accessible walkway leads from the parking lot to an interpretive area with information boards and a display of concrete replica casts taken from the nearby petroglyphs. The sandstone gallery of the originals is just a short distance farther along the walkway on a hill that overlooks the Nanaimo Harbour.

To locate other petroglyphs that can be found in the area., check with the Nanaimo Centennial Museum at 100 Cameron Street.

The Bungy Zone:
Admission: $100
tel: 1.888.668.7874
www.bungyzone.com
Address: Nanaimo River Road
Non-aboriginal owned

This specially designed bridge over the Nanaimo River was the first Bungy Bridge in North America. Dive straight down from 143 feet only to be returned 3/4 that height to fall again and again in the classic BUNGY style of jumping. From Highway 1, cross the Nanaimo River and just beyond the Nanaimo River Bridge, is the Bungy Zone and Nanaimo Lakes sign. This business is worth mentioning because of the work done to advance adventure tourism and help to set standards for the industry.

Newcastle Island Provincial Marine Park
Location: Nanaimo Harbour (Ferries operate from the Mafeo-Sutton Park near the downtown)

NEWCASTLE ISLAND PROVINCIAL MARINE PARK is part of Snuneymuxw First Nation Traditional Territory. Archaeological evidence, such as the large number of shell middens, burial sites, and culturally modified trees, indicate that the Snuneymuxw people have used Newcastle Island for many thousands of years.

The Snuneymuxw have many stories about the Island. One story tells how Haals, the transformer, moved about the land and turned animals and people into stone. Today one can see examples of this in the rock formations along the shoreline. The Snuneymuxw also consider this island a sacred place as it was traditionally used for spiritual training. Young athletes were brought to the island to train for foot racing and canoe pulling.

The Provincial Marine Park encompasses an island of 306 hectares where a shoreline of sandstone cliffs and caves meets sandy gravel beaches. There is evidence of two Salish Indian villages that were deserted before coal mining began on the island from 1853 to 1883.

Sandstone was quarried here from 1869 to 1932. Until 1945 a Japanese fishing company had a saltery and shipyard on the west side of the island. The island was purchased in 1931 by the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company who operated it as a resort and built a dance pavilion, tea house, picnic areas, change houses and a soccer field using an old ship as a floating hotel.

Visitors can enjoy excellent swimming, water sports, hiking and fishing. Hiking and Trails provide access to all areas of the island. Designated bike trails are provided and a playground and picnic area are located on the island.

There is a concession located in the park where visitors can rent recreational equipment.  There are 18 tent sites available for camping with toilets, wood and water nearby. Group camping facilities may be reserved.  Located in the Nanaimo Harbour, Newcastle may be accessed by private boat or a foot-passenger ferry from Swyalena lagoon.

Big Rock
Location: Highway 19, entering Campbell River

Visitors entering into Campbell River via Highway 19 are greeted by a monstrous boulder known affectionately as Big Rock. For many locals, this 40-foot high landmark has long been a canvas for graffiti, love notes or even artwork. The transformer rock legend is that a boastful grizzly bear turned to stone after not heeding the Great Spirits advice and just failing to complete his attempt to jump from the mainland to Vancouver Island. The tide was high and his back foot touched the water and as the Great Spirit warned the bear turned to stone. Grizzly bears are plentiful along the mainland coastal inlets but none are found on Vancouver Island.

Gildas Box of Treasures Theatre
The Wei Wai Kum House of Treasures
Admission: $15
Performance with lunch $35
tel: (250) 287-7310
www.gildastheatre.com
Address: 1370 Island Highway ,Discovery Harbour Mall, Campbell River

The Laichwiltach Peoples invite visitors to come and experience the richness of their culture. The Campbell River First Nations people offer visitors the opportunity to participate in the authentic dances, songs and stories of the Laichwiltach First Nation. The Gildas Box of Treasures Theatre features live cultural dance performances to educate and entertain guests of the theatre.

Gildas performances are excerpts from the renowned Potlatch ceremony - a ceremony that has never been open to the public. This sacred custom is the societal underpinning of Laichwiltach culture. Gildas is the traditional name given to a symbolic box that holds each family's cultural heritage - their masks, dances, songs and stories. Lunch or dinner includes a sampling of traditional First Nations foods offering barbecued or smoked wild salmon, clam fritters and bannock bread.

The Wei Wai Kum House of Treasures and Gilda’s Box of Treasures is one of the greatest places to see accumulated examples of native culture and arts. The establishment can best be described as a museum in which it is possible to buy the exhibits. Outside are three beautiful examples of totem pole art and inside is a collection of masks, paddles, paintings and gifts by local artists.

Campbell River Museum
Admission: $6
Tel: 250.287.3103
Address: 470 Island Highway, Campbell River BC Canada
(parking and entrance reached via 5th Avenue)

The rich native heritage of Campbell River is proudly displayed in the Campbell River Museum, which features a fine display of contemporary native masks and ceremonial items.

At the entrance to this gallery is a contemporary sculpture by Laichwiltach artist Max Chickite entitled Raven Transforming. Transformation is an important theme in the traditions of the Northwest Coast peoples and is frequently portrayed in their art, past and present.

The gallery houses displays which explore a number of themes relating to First Nations history in the area. These themes include a look at ancient and modern First Nations fishing methods, archaeological evidence covering 9000 years of settlement and the devastating epidemics of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Inside the First Nations gallery of the museum there is an Ehattesaht pole that was one of several originally situated at Ehattesaht Village on the west coast of Vancouver Island. In 1938, members of the Ehattesaht band towed the pole to Zeballos where Chief Frank Savey, on behalf of his people, formally presented it to Major George Nicholson, in recognition of past favours. Major Nicholson donated the pole to the Museum at Campbell River in 1960.

The Wolf house posts inside were carved by Wakeman Sound artist Herbert Johnson in the 1940s or 50s. These house posts formerly stood outside Herbert Johnson's big house in Health Bay, Gilford Island. Inspired by an older set of interior house posts, these posts were originally commissioned by a collector who later changed his mind about acquiring them.

Kwagiulth Museum and Cultural Centre
Admission: $3
The round-trip ferry fares: $5 per adult - $13 per vehicle
tel: 250.285.3733
Address: 34 WeWay Rd., Cape Mudge Village, Quadra Island

Quadra Island, a ten-minute ferry ride from Campbell River, is well worth the visit. The Kwagiulth Museum boasts one of the world's best collections presents exhibits and artifacts depicting the culture and history of the Kwagiulth nation. This museum is well know for its collection of potlatch regalia, and show cases ceremonial masks, rattles, and whistles.

To the First Nations along the Northwest coast, the potlatch was one of the most important ceremonies, involving the reenactment of clan myths and ritual gift giving. When Canadian officials banned the potlatch in the 1920s, the centuries-old costumes, masks, and artifacts of the Kwagiulth tribe were confiscated and sent to museums in eastern Canada and England. When the items were repatriated in the early 1990s, the tribe built a handsome museum to showcase this incredible collection of Native art.

Behind the museum is K'ik'ikg'illas, "The House of Eagles," a recently built longhouse like structure used to teach carving, dancing, and other traditional ways of life. Ask at the museum to tour the building, which contains an especially impressive totem pole. Across from the museum is a park where a series of petroglyphs document ancient legends.

A 10-minute ferry runs between Campbell River and Quathiaski Cove, on Quadra Island. There are trips on the hour from about 6am to 10p.m . The road to the museum is not well marked. From the ferry, take Cape Mudge Road south about 5km (3 miles); watch for signs for WeWay Road and a hand-painted sign saying MUSEUM.

Aboriginal Journeys
Admission:$69 - $225 (4 – 8 hr tours)
Toll Free: 1-888-455-8101
Phone: (250) 850-1101
www.aboriginaljourneys.comAddress: St.# 398-1434 Island Hwy, Campbell River

Aboriginal Journeys is a locally owned and operated First Nations wildlife viewing and adventure tour company situated within the traditional territory of the Laichwiltach people. They offer awe-inspiring wildlife, marine-life and nature-viewing excursions through some of the most scenic areas found anywhere in the world. Enjoy whale watching, Grizzly Bear and Black Bear viewing, soaring Eagles, playful Dolphins and other marine wildlife in their natural habitat.

Learn some of the local First Nations history and culture and join them for a journey into their spiritual, mystical and natural world. Tours are guided by locally born residents who have years of experience navigating through our waters. You will enjoy an intimate and exhilarating journey aboard our 24-foot zodiac, or our 55-foot classic wooden fishing vessel. Both vessels are fully equipped with all the proper navigation and safety equipment.

Crabby Bob’s Fresh Seafood
Tel: 250.830-1155
Address: 705 Island Highway, Campbell River at the Government Wharf, next to the Discovery Pier
Non-aboriginal owned

Campbell River has an abundance of seafood in and around it’s waters and the fastest way to get that seafood from water to plate is to visit Crabby Bob’s Seafood and buy some seafood at the docks.

Six tanks keep live prawns, crabs and the occasional lobster as well as frozen prawn tails, shrimp tails and sockeye salmon. Selection varies seasonally and at the right time of year proprietor Bob Hutter carries oysters in the shell, Manila clams and smoked salmon.

The aim of Crabby Bob’s is to make shopping for seafood fun, with an aquarium for kids and a huge wooden crab that is popular for photosBob will also quite happily tell anyone inquiring how to clean, prepare and cook their fish. He’s even been known to hand out a few recipes.

The service at Crabby Bob’s along with the fresh product right from the local area combine to make the experience of shopping for seafood both tasty and rewarding for locals and tourists alike.

Port Hardy Museum, Archives & Gift Shop

Admission: by donation

Telephone:250.949.8143

Address: 7110 Market Street, Port Hardy, BC

The Port Hardy Heritage Society Museum and Archives and Gift Shop is open year round. They have a large selection of carved silver jewelry from local First Nation artists from Port Hardy, Klemtu, Rivers Inlet, Kingcome, Bella Bella, Fort Rupert and Alert Bay.  They have a sizeable collection of Aboriginal tools and an exhibit of artifacts from the oldest known (8,000 years!) First Nation  settlement on Vancouver Island .  It was at Bear Cove, right across Hardy Bay where the ferry docks.   

They carry Kwkiutl music of the Pacific Northwest and also are able to show videos on request; e.g. In the Land of the War Canoes, oolichan grease production and Blunden Harbour.    They have a fair number of books about First Nations in their giftshop.

Copper Maker Gallery

Admission:  free

Telephone: 250-949-8491

Address:  112 Copper Way

Renowned artist, Calvin Hunt has the world-famous Copper Maker Gallery in Fort Rupert Village, the heart of Kwagu'l territory.  They are just 10 minutes south of the BC Ferries Terminal at Port Hardy, British Columbia

You are welcomed by the aroma of cedar in the downstairs workshop, where you can watch carvers transform the 'Tree of Life' into beautiful original Northwest Native art works.

Step up to the gallery, with a sundeck overlooking beautiful Beaver Harbour, and see traditional works by some of the Northwest's most talented Native artists.  Fine museum quality Native art works include masks, canoes, original hand-processed silkscreen prints, Stephen K. Hunt model canoes and paddles and hand-engraved original sterling silver jewellery.  If you're looking for that one of a kind Native art, look no further.  They also offer their expertise to help you explore the possibilities

of commissioning totem poles, masks, bowls, or canoes.  

While you are there be sure to ask if Stan Hunt is available to show you his work.  His carving workshop is 1/2 block down the street and you can very likely find him working on a commissioned piece. 

The Choo-Kwa Gift Shop and Choo Kwa Ventures
Admission: $30 per person for tour, Gift shop; free tel: 250-724-4006
toll free: 1-866-294-8687
Address: 4550 Victoria Quay, Port Alberni

Guided 2 hour canoe tours of the river and Vancouver Island’s largest lake – Sproat Lake are presented by the Hupacasath First Nation. The Hupacasath People have lived for thousands of years along Vancouver Island's Somass River. The guides are students of the history and language of the Hupacasath, and share the history of the land through narrative, song and storytelling. On the tour, Hupacasath First Nations Guides instruct visitors how to paddle in their replica canoe, share stories and songs of river and valley-dwelling people, and describe the rich ecology and economy of the area.

The Choo- Kwa gift shop features Native arts and crafts created by resident artisans. Visitors will find cedar bark hats, paddles, Cowichan sweaters, handmade baskets, silver and gold jewellery, beadwork, carvings and masks, red cedar boxes, carved and painted coaster sets are handmade and for sale by local artists.Take Highway 4 (aka Johnston Street) headed North. At the "T" in the highway, you will stop at a light and see the Hupacasath First Nation Welcome Figures and canoe display in front of you. Take a LEFT at the light onto Victoria Quay, and an immediate right into the ChooKwa Ventures parking lot.