July 2004

Ninstints Continued:

 

two authentic village poles, one at
Skedans Village site on Louise
Island, and one on Chaatl Island.
Both these islands are north of
Anthony Island, situated in the
middle of the archipelago.

Ninstints village is located on the
north side of Anthony Island. All
that you can see from the south end
is the endless Pacific Ocean.

“These poles have gone through
storm after storm. The winters here
are ruthless,” says Hesseltine.
“Visitors can usually only get to the
island between late March and early
October. The winds are too much
for a boat to handle, and it’s just so
cold and wet.” Since Anthony
Island is such an isolated location,
visitors have to be flown into Rose
Harbour, and taken by boat from
there. “Because the weather is nuts,
few pilots are willing to fly to Rose
Harbour in the winter, especially
January,” says Hesseltine.

When winter is over and the
winds have turned to a fresh breeze,
Haida native and Parks Canada
employee Barb Wilson returns to
Ninstints to take care of the poles.
“Sometimes trees or branches near-

by will fall,” says Wilson.
“Incredibly, logs floating on the
ocean are swept far up the shore,
near the poles, too.” It’s hard to
imagine waves powerful enough to
thrust a log 40 feet up the shore. If
on this serene shoreline the weather
can be that dramatic, the south end
that faces open ocean must become
ferocious.

The biggest problem Wilson deals
with in preserving the poles is para-
sitic trees and plants. “Birds often
come sit on the poles and poop.
Then you end up with an alder seed
sitting on the moist red cedar pole,
and within no time a little tree is
growing,” says Wilson. “The longer
this sprout has to grow on its nurse
log (the pole), the bigger the split,
and the more moisture gets to the
middle and rots the pole.”

To keep parasitic plants and trees
from taking over the site, BC Parks’
Haida Watchmen (Ninstints’ care-
takers) remove any trees and plants
that are too close to the poles. “We
try to keep the other trees of the for-
est a ways away, just so seeds don’t
fall directly on the poles. That could

create too much work. We'd have

seedlings sprouting all the time if
we didn’t,” says Wilson. “Salal also
grows like crazy at the base of the
poles. That stuff is the plant we love
to hate. It has such strong roots, but
its leaves are a dark glossy green. It
adds such drama to Ninstints.”

In the efforts to preserve the
poles, no chemicals are used.
Through careful study, scientists
found the environment itself to be a
self-sustaining agent for successful
conservation. Apart from removing
parasitic foliage, just enough trees
are left in place to provide an ade-
quate wind break, subtle draining
ditches surround the site, and due
to increased sunlight, ultraviolet
rays destroy much of the moss and
lichens that grows on the poles.

“These measures are a great help
in preserving the site,” says
MacDonald. “But it’s true that the
poles are in their final stage of dete-
rioration.”

No one knows for sure how long
the poles can last in their natural
location. “I guess we're all hoping
for some miracle technology to keep
this village from rotting away,” says
Wilson.

 

Black clouds are rolling in from
the sea, so Cohen says we've got to
return to Rose Harbour before the
rain and wind come. But as we get
into the skiff, she eyes a log gently
rocking with the shoreline’s waves.
Cohen takes a few minutes to tie a
rope around the yellow cedar so she
can tow it home to dry out for fire-
wood. She climbs into the skiff,
pushes us with the paddle to deeper
waters, and starts the motor. My
skipper, deck mate, and I all stare at
the village until the poles are out of
sight.

Visiting Anthony Island can be a bit
of a challenge. First, you can only
get there by boat and air. To visit the
poles, you must get advanced per-
mission, and receive an orientation
from the Haida Watchmen. To do
this phone 1-800-HELLO-BC
from March 15 onwards until Fall.
Orientations run three times a day.
Because the ancient site is so fragile
there’s a maximum of 1700 visitors
allowed every year.

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