On the weekend of July 20 and 21, I attended the opening
events of The Story Box: Franz Boas,
George Hunt and the Making of Anthropology at the U’mista
Cultural Centre in Alert Bay, British Columbia. The exhibition, curated by
Professor Aaron Glass and presented at Bard Graduate Center Gallery from
February to July 2019, focuses on Franz Boas’s fieldwork among the
Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw of British Columbia and the collaboration with his Indigenous
research partner, George Hunt.
Getting to Alert Bay required quite a bit of travel and it
set the stage for a beautiful weekend. On the ferry from Port McNeill dolphins swam
alongside and an eagle or two flew overhead. It was time to shed the hustle and
bustle of New York City and enjoy some spectacular nature. Arriving at the port
in Alert Bay travelers are greeted with a sign that reads, “Home of the
Killer Whale.” Regrettably, I did not see any orcas during my stay. I did see a lovely village of mostly wooden
structures, an intact burial ground with amazing totem poles, and a boat basin
that has seen better days. Corrine Hunt, the great-granddaughter of George Hunt
and a collaborator on the exhibition, told me on our walk along the shoreline
that during her childhood fishing was the principal industry. When we arrived, Gwantilakw
Cranmer-Hunt, who was among the community members who came to New York City to
participate in our opening, was on the beach preparing a salmon for our meal
later that evening!
On Saturday morning members of the Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw community
welcomed guests in the ceremonial Big House to witness traditional music and
dance. Audience members were invited to participate in the final dance, which I
did, with bare feet. I wanted to gather some of the energy that the dancers had
cultivated during their presentation and to prepare myself for the opening.
Later the same day, Chief William Cranmer, along with members of his family, and
U’mista Cultural Centre staff, including directors Sarah Holland and Juanita
Johnson, welcomed everyone to the Centre. As it turned out, the film crew that
I saw on the ferry crossing was on site to record two important community
events: the exhibition opening honoring George Hunt’s legacy and the
repatriation of a mask that the dealer (and donor to the exhibit tour) Donald
Ellis gifted to the Centre. The ceremony took place in the gallery that houses
the community’s Potlatch Collection. Among the works shown are extraordinary
masks, rattles, regalia, and other pieces that were repatriated after the more
than 60-year Canadian potlatch ban was lifted in 1951. Among those present were many Hunt family descendants,
anthropologists Marie Mauzé from Paris and Karen Duffek from the University of
British Columbia’s Museum of Anthropology, graduate students Christopher T.
Green and Jordan Wilson, artists and filmmakers Marian Penner Bancroft, Colin
Browne, Marina Dodis, Sharon Grainger, members of Professor Glass’s
family, and Anna Piva.
“Many people believe that a rich and powerful person is
someone who has a lot. The people who speak Kwak´wala, the Kwakwaka‘wakw, believe that a
rich and powerful person is someone who gives the most away. Since a time
beyond memory, the Kwakwaka‘wakw have been hosting potlatches and
potlatching continues to play a central and unifying role in community life
today.”
umistapotlatch.ca/potlatch-eng.php
The Story Box presentation
at U’mista Cultural Centre retains all of the thematic content presented at Bard
Graduate Center Gallery. While several objects were not able to travel to Alert
Bay, additional works were added from the host collection. Artist Corrine Hunt’s
graphic design enlivens the show, and the Whale Transformation Mask she created
with Chief David Mungo Knox directly connects to the living community.The opening also marked the launch of
The Story Box website. On Sunday, Professor Glass and Hunt led a tour through the show that was enriched by the contributions of Judith Berman and Rainer Hatoum, members of the Boas 1897 Critical Edition Project team, who also traveled to Alert Bay for this important occasion.
On the way back to Vancouver, Corrine Hunt invited us to
join her in Fort Rupert. While there we visited David Knox in his studio
carving masks for an upcoming potlatch ceremony and walked along the same
shoreline as George Hunt and Franz Boas. I entered this story through Professor Glass’s
teaching and the pages of Franz Boas’s 1897 book
The Social Organization and the Secret Societies of the Kwakiutl
Indians. Today I have a great sense of pride that this truly special
exhibition is on view through October in the place where Boas’s work began. And
I know that Professor Glass and those of us that helped to create this
exhibition feel incredibly privileged to have had the opportunity to
collaborate with U’mista Cultural Centre and the Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw community. The
trip to Alert Bay and Fort Rupert left me with a new understanding of the role
that the Centre has played and continues to play in the community, and how
important it is that we honor tradition and cultivate the work of Indigenous
artists today.
— Marianne Lamonaca, Chief Curator / Associate Director of the Gallery
