Sacred Journey and Bakvla Exhibit (Science World, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canad)

 

Sacred Journey

Sacred Journey, a 2,000-sq. ft. exhibition in Science World (accessible in both official languages) from July 15, 2022 to February 20, 2023, takes visitors on a voyage, to experience the resurgence of Northwest Coast canoe cultures. Produced by the Heiltsuk Tribal Council, SeeQuest Development and Greencoast Media, and presented by Vancity, it tells, through art, immersive audio, video displays and interactive experiences, the powerful story of a people reclaiming traditions and ways of life, particularly through the annual Tribal Canoe Journeys taken to revitalize cultures, heal communities and empower the next generation. 

Check out “Science World”

Exhibition entrance

An interactive exhibit, with audio and video elements, gives visitors a deeper understanding of tribal canoe journeys, inviting them to bear witness to the transformative power of Tribal Canoe Journeys and the Indigenous teachings that hold answers to the environmental and social crises our world is facing.

 

A carved eagle-human mask

For thousands of years, the glwa (traditional ocean-going canoe), the main means of transportation for the indigenous peoples in the Pacific Northwest, was essential for community, for culture, for way of life. 

At an archaeological site on Triquet Island, West Coast peoples have been found to have used ocean-going canoes as many as 14,000 years ago.  Nearly lost as a result of colonization, canoe culture has seen a revival over the last three decades.

 

A monumental canvas canoe

​​Welcoming visitors at the entrance of the exhibit is a carved eagle-human mask.  The exhibit features art pieces such as modern Northwest Coast style graphic design and mask carving by Heiltsuk artists Chazz Mack, Ian Reid (Nusi), Kelsey (KC) Hall and Roy Henry Vickers.  Also on display is a monumental canvas canoe painted with four large Heiltsuk clan crests; overarching houses posts and paddles to accompany the canoe. 

The Heiltsuk, an amalgamation of five tribes, are a seafaring people with more than 14,000 years of continuous use and occupancy of their territorial waters along the Pacific Northwest Coast and are leaders in the resurgence of ocean-going canoes and culture.

 

During the Sacred Journey exhibition, there was also a photo series, in the Science World atrium, called Bákvḷá (a Heiltsuk word that loosely translates as “gathering and harvesting food for winter”). 

Bakvla: Harvesting Herring Roe on Hemlock Branches

Bakvla: Harvesting Herring Roe on Stringy Kelp

This series, interpreted by Margaret Brown (a residential school survivor and one of the few remaining fluent Heiltsuk-language speakers), was co-produced by the Heiltsuk Nation and co-curated by Frank Brown, Ayla Brown and Vina Brown (a PhD candidate who developed the dissertation), all members of the Heiltsuk Nation; and William Knight, curator at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum.

 

Bakvla: Herring on the Spawning Grounds

Bakvla: The Big House

With stories of The Big House (Gvákva’áus Haíɫzaqv) and the arrival of herring (Wán ̓ái) which feeds everyone and everything on the Pacific Coast, Bákvḷá explores a holistic approach to Heiltsuk food sovereignty and security and shows how food sustains the Heiltsuk; their connections with their territory, history, and knowledge systems—and, indeed, their very identity. It was accompanied by a 20-ft. long by 18 in. wide dugout canoe carved by the Canoe Cultures Society. 

 

History and Impact of Racing Canoes

Sacred Journey: Science World, 1455 Quebec St., Vancouver, British Columbia V6A 3Z7, Canada.  Tel: 604.443.7440.Website: www.scienceworld.ca and  www.scienceworld.ca/exhibition/sacred-journey/.  E-mail: info@scienceworld.ca. Open daily, 10 AM  5 PM. The exhibit is included in the cost of your admission to Science World (free for indigenous peoples).  Admission: $30.40 (adults, 19 years old and above), $24.30 (seniors, 65 years old and above, students with ID and youth, 13 - 18 years old), $20.30 (children, 3 – 12 years old) and free (children under 3 years old). Coordinates: 49.273251°N 123.103767°W. 

How to Get There: Science World is just a short walk from the Skytrain and  Main Street–Science World and from Vancouver’s Olympic Village, in one direction, and BC Place Stadium in the other.