Drift Yoga || Haida Gwaii

Haida Gwaii. This place I have longed to visit. I grew up looking through photo albums, flipping through images my dad took while kayaking around these islands. My mom’s partner lived there for 35 years, and I have a few dear friends who grew up there. When my friend Sami of Drift Yoga & Seafolk Retreats decided to hold her 2nd yoga retreat there, it was hard to pass the opportunity up.

I went up a few days prior to the retreat to visit a friend of mine in Queen Charlotte City. I just so happened to be there for Hospital Days, which is the islands big summer event. They just so happened to be raising a totem out front of the new hospital. I’ve never seen a totem rise, and although this one in particular wasn’t fully traditional, it was still pretty amazing to be there to see the blessing of this pole, and partaking in polling on the ropes.

It was a quick trip to QCC, as I headed back to Masset the next afternoon to help the ladies get organized for the retreat. 12 ladies including Sami & Kristi, came to Haida Gwaii for the retreat, and what an incredible group of women. We were staying at the Heillen Longhouse Village. Nestled in the woods, with North Beach and Tow hill at our doorsteps, we were pretty darn lucky. North Beach is huge, and what struck me the most, is how quiet this place is. I walked for a ways by myself, and the only people I saw were in the 2 trucks whizzing by. It was just me and the eagles, in stillness. The ocean was flat as a lake, and I remember thinking how lucky I was to have gotten this place to myself, and managed to score such incredible weather.

Seeing as Sami spent the first 7 years of her life in Haida Gwaii, and her father still residing there, she has some killer connections. We were invited to a Potlatch at Christian White’s longhouse, and what an honour that was. Potlatches were once the primary economic system of the Coastal First Nations People. The Canadian government had banned these ceremonies making them illegal in attempts of suppression back in 1885. Though these ceremonies continued to be held in secrecy. The ban was repealed in 1951. Getting to experience ritual, song, dance and culture first hand was pretty powerful. The Haida are a proud nation, and proud they should be.

Of course, there was yoga. A class first thing in the morning to start our day, and one in the evening to wind us down. Between theses classes is when we would venture out, to explore.

We were taken to see another Haida carver, Jaalen Edenshaw. He was in the works of carving one of the most beautiful totems I’ve ever seen. A 360 degree pole, that was commissioned for a private residence, here in Whistler of all places. This piece of art is one for the books. The details on this pole are intricate and beautifully carved. He had two other carvers there helping as the deadline to finish it was closing in. Actually being able to see them in action was a pretty special thing to witness.

One of the many great things about visiting Haida Gwaii in June, is it’s light until 11pm. We definitely tried to cram a lot into some days. A little trip to Skidegate to the museum, and then a hike out to Pesuta, an old shipwreck which I thought was pretty darn cool.

We took a boat out to an old village site, that I will keep nameless for the sake of respect. We learned a lot about the history of the Haida, and the Small Pox epidemic that was brought over by Europeans. There were once 20,000 Haida, and after Small Pox was introduced, their population was almost completely wiped out. There were only 600 survivors. So unbelievably sad. This village site had a few mortuary poles still standing which was super neat to see. Such a sacred place.

A few of us made attempts of dip netting for Dungeness Crab. There was some success. Thankfully Sami’s dad Butch, provided us with plenty of fresh Halibut, crab and prawns. We were well fed, fresh from the sea, just the way I like it. A few of the girls found a message in a bottle, and were disappointed by the not so inspiring note they found, so they wrote a better one. Our last day we drove out to Rose Spit in the back of a few trucks, which was hilarious. Clearly we don’t get to do this back home, so the entertainment factor in this was pretty high.

This was such a great experience. I’d love to go back and explore more. What a beautiful part of BC.

For more trips to awesome places with rad ladies, click here.