Photography

Haida Gwaii, the Islands of the People, sits equidistant from Luxor, Machu Picchu and Timbuktu. Haida Gwaii, an archipelago located 130 kilometers off the northern British Columbia coast is the western most extremity of Canada. For the Haida people, marine and land environments are inseparable.

She waits patiently on the riverbank, her cubs trailing behind distracted by a branch, a bug, a bird. Her keen eye focused on the strong current, nose continually testing the air for signs of danger. A flash of red breaks the surface, a blur of fur and spray springs into action. The salmon scatter.

For many years, the Spirit Bear was considered a legend of the people of the Gitg’at and Kitasoo First Nations. They told of a time when the glaciers receded, and it was the Raven who made everything green. To remind him of a time when the world was white with snow and ice the Raven decided to make one in ten black bears white.

On the inland lea of the Coastal Mountains, bordered by the Fraser River and known to the Chilcotin people as Red Ochre River, the Chilko River is the largest natural, high elevation, freshwater system in North America. Western Hemlock, Red Cedar and old growth Douglas Fir stand like sentinels, protecting herds of Bighorn Sheep, Mountain Goats, Mule Deer …