“I think people…people, we are our worst enemies. We seem like we have to do everything until there’s nothing left.
I used to be really disgusted with that ay. They [fishing corporations] cleaned one area out, then moved to another area. The rules were the fishermen had to get the quota.
The companies put their quotas over and above the environment.”
Hesquiaht Elder, Patrick Charleson Jr.
Photography: Donovan Williams, Jacine Charleson, Kevin Charleson, Patrick Charleson IV, Rakaylyn Charleson
every time i come to write a post about being back with the hesquiaht first nation community (i have been back three weeks now) i stare at the screen for five minutes and then say ‘tomorrow’.
so tired!
but good tired.
what’s going on in the second part of this project is about…
– continuing to empower the young hesquiaht and encourage their pride in themselves and their stories
– training the young hesquiaht in modern storytelling…photography, stop motion, claymation, filmmaking
– exposing the young hesquiaht to the power of the internet in sharing their story…facebook, vimeo, blogging, websites
– bringing awareness to historic and modern hesquiaht culture through online and print resources using their own images and their own voices
and
– playing goldrush (think two teams, hoops, bean bag gold, and jail!)
– eating fresh rock oysters, moose, halibut, sea asparagus, and sea urchins stolen from minks
– just generally realising you are alive, and that it is hard, and easy and everything in between
kids and kevin – you are SUPER photographers, i believe in each and every one of you. but that doesn’t mean i will EVER let you win goldrush if i can help it.
[images all taken by the hesquiaht folk in the last few weeks. the middle images were taken during our portraiture class…the creativity of this crew is astounding and magic to watch.]
“actually, there are countless ways to live upon this tremorous sphere in mirth and good health, and probably only one way – the industrial, urbanized, herding way – to live here stupidly, and man has hit upon that one way.”
tom robbins
at one point, i became disillusioned with being one of a thousand visitors stomping on the galapagos. most of the animals i saw were either eating rubbish, or being harassed by a khaki wearing two-legger with a camera (include me in there – but without the khaki).
hence, i put down my camera, stopped bothering the live animals, and instead bothered the live tourists.
“please sir will you take a picture of me with this giant headless flamingo?”
i am very grateful to all the lovely volunteers.
my disillusion is with us as a herd, rather than us as individuals. seems when we grow in number, our ability to put the plastic bottle in the recycle bin, and the half-chewed fish burger in the garbage, evaporates.
why is that?
“[on scientists]…they are apt unconsciously to assume that they already enjoy a good bird’s-eye view of what reality is, combined with an unshaken assurance about what it is not.
they tacitly suppose that every discovery, if genuine, will find its place within the framework of a perfected physics, and, if it does not, may be summarily dismissed as mere superstition.”
lord balfour, 1925, in science, religion, and reality
“…neither of the humility of the mystic seeker for God, nor the humility of reason acknowledging its limits…”
arthur koestler, 1959, in the sleepwalkers: a history of man’s changing vision of the universe
“the story of man is something more than a mere continuation of the story of matter…
if we cannot calculate the course of human history, that is because (among other reasons) it is inherently incalculable.
no two specimens of humanity exactly resemble each other, or live in circumstances that are exactly comparable. the so called “repetitions” of history are never more than vague resemblances. the science of history therefore, if there be one, is something quite different from (say) the science of physics.
…when man is regarded as a spiritual agent in a world under spiritual guidance, events of spiritual significance cannot be wholly judged by canons of criticism which seem sufficient for simpler cases.”
bronislaw malinowski (1925) in science, religion, and reality
new years eve - quito, ecuador
while researching a new project about the links and differences of science and ‘other ways of knowing’ I came across adam lord gifford.
gifford – a scott – established the gifford lectures in the late 1800’s to “promote and diffuse the study of natural theology in the widest sense of the term — in other words, the knowledge of god.”
natural theology = science
in his last will and testament of 1887, gifford laid down these thoughts…
“the lecturers appointed shall be subjected to no test of any kind, and may be of any denomination whatever or of no denomination, of any religion or way of thinking, or as is sometimes said, they may be of no religion, or they may be so-called sceptics or agnostics or free-thinker, provided only that they be reverent men, true thinkers, sincere lovers of and earnest inquirers after truth.”
REVERENT MEN
TRUE THINKERS
SINCERE LOVERS OF
AND EARNEST INQUIRERS AFTER
TRUTH
not so much a fan of capitals, but thats some nice palabras, no?
who are the hesquiaht kids?
the hesquiaht people are part of the nuu-chah-nulth nations in canada.
to get to hesquiaht territory you will need to…
-fly yourself to vancouver,
-take a ferry to vancouver island,
-drive 3 hours to tofino,
-then hop on a boat for an hour to hot springs cove.
not a store in site.
the community is currently about 45 people.
in the 60’s there were 150 community members but a tsunami came flying into their inlet home wiping out everything.
apparently no one was hurt because the houses were made of timber… the water simply uprooted everyone and they floated back a mile or so.
the community rebuilt out of the way of the brunt of any future tsunamis, but many were forced to leave, and numbers have been continuing to decrease since.
gradually young people are moving to town, and the hesquiaht are worried that their culture is being lost.
especially their language, and stories.
a new school was built in the hope that kids would be able to finish high school in the community. but currently children need to leave after grade 7 to attend high school in town.
if children need to leave to go to school, often families prefer to leave with them.
from the community…
“as one of the most isolated communities in the clayoquot region, the future of the hesquiaht first nation on their traditional territory is dependent on affordable and sustainable transportation systems, on the development of community infrastructure and sustainable energy production, and on keeping or re-attracting its members to the community.
starting with health and social development—the key starting point—the hesquiaht is working on a number of fronts to keep the community thriving. these include the development of eco-tourism opportunities, infrastructure and housing, treaty negotiations, and the marketing of the community and territory. with a small population facing large challenges, the hesquiaht must rely and support its growing young champions and “warriors” to move the community forward.”
i am lucky enough to be here to share photography with these young champions so that they can record their culture today, through their own eyes.
we are also going to be recording audio of the 8 elders who still live in the community so that there is a permanent record of their stories for the generations to come.
meet our first young warrior…
rakaylyn
and her community through her eyes
fingers super-crossed to be able to accept an invitation to join two of my greatest teachers to galapagos in february and spend a little time with lovely science.
universe, if you can hear me, the practice begins now. if i am good enough to capture you ( ; by feb. let me go.
to hope, a esperança, a la esperanza, आशा है कि, le súil, zu hoffen!
this is a magnificent frigate-bird. silent in flight. never lands on water. longest wingspan to body ratio. magnificent for sure. these photos came straight out of the camera. no tricks. just sunshine and happiness!
YEP. 