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explore: NW | The Official Magazine for kenmore air | Spring 2019
The islands of
Haida Gwaii some-
times seem as though
you’ve stepped into
a time machine,
portraying a likeness
of existence from
centuries ago. There
is a certain mys-
tique to the land. To
wander through the
old growth rainfor-
ests that blanket
its surface is to feel
connection to the
power, wonder, and
tradition woven through
Haida Gwaii’s rich history. The natural
beauty it holds is truly second to none,
and spending time entranced in the
forests and roaming deserted beaches,
hearing nothing but the rhythmic beats
of a pacific ocean drum, or the deep,
throaty caws from ravens overhead
instils a sense of peace and calm. This
is something that the Haida people
tourism/marcus
Gwaliga grabs his board and starts
towards the water’s edge, eager to ride
a few of the beautiful offshore peaks
before him, in solitude.
Haida Gwaii (or Xaayda Gwaay, in
Haida language) is comprised of over
150 islands, yet most of them small,
and the majority of territory is made
up by Graham Island (Kiis Gwaay), to
the north and Morseby Island (Gwaii
Haanas) to the south. The west and
windward side of the islands acts as
the gateway to the mighty Pacific, and
its jagged coastline is chiseled from
decades of inclement weather and fero-
cious storm swells bearing down upon
it. Access to that portion of coast is
nearly impossible over land, and travel
is done almost exclusively by sea. This
poses many a challenge in the realm
of hunting for surf along Haida Gwaii’s
west coast, and has left the region
mostly untouched and unexplored by
visiting surfers, because of the difficulty
and dangers of operating a boat in such
conditions.
Gwaliga Hart with his hand carved surfboard
in carver Christian White’s workshop. Below,
with a passion for surfing and his ancestry,
Gwaliga Hart warms himself by a campfire
on the beach at one of his surfing haunts.
have worked long and hard to keep
preserved and intact. “It’s important
to understand the significance of why
things are the way they are here,” speaks
Hart, “It’s easy to see the unspoiled
remoteness and beauty of Haida Gwaii
as “untouched wilderness,” but in reality
our land and marine environments are
cultured landscapes, where we have oc-