Canada Over the Edge | S2E3 | Vancouver Island North

[Music] northern vancouver island a remote aerial odyssey tracing one of the world's great wilderness frontiers a home to protected sea life we've been studying these whales 40 years now and we've learned a lot recovered regalia of the region's first settlers we had a great celebration when these pieces were returned and west coast ceremonial traditions that live on our belief as traditional people is that we're connected to all living things now we reveal the coastlines like never before unlocking the secrets of our maritime past present and future canada over the edge [Music] on the northern extremity of vancouver island the waters of johnston strait stretch more than 100 kilometers to the north located far from british columbia's urban centers this is a remote stretch of coastal beauty [Music] often shrouded in mist and fog rolling hills and dense forests line this marine perimeter with just five kilometers separating vancouver island from the mainland johnston strait is a key navigation route a sheltered waterway for vessels heading for vancouver to the south and alaska to the north [Music] it is also home to an incredible marine ecosystem this is robson bite ecological reserve a protected waterway measuring more than 5 000 hectares in the distance lies one of the world's best known populations of orca whales [Music] measuring five to eight meters in length and weighing as much as six tons the orca or killer whale has come to symbolize the natural life of this region [Music] it's a formidable unique creature families of orca bond their entire lives as many as four generations seen together at any given time next the tiny outpost of telegraph cove originally a communications hub this was the northern terminus for the campbell river telegraph line [Music] the town grew into a fishing and forestry community with boardwalks connecting these century-old buildings [Music] today it is the last of its kind on this coastline with just 20 full-time residents telegraph cove is now an eco-tourism destination the telegraph cove is kind of this funny little place that's very small it's hidden away hard to kind of get to we're at the north end of vancouver island it was a little sawmill town for most of the last century a lot of these coastal communities that had wooden boardwalks slowly disappeared and melted basically back into the ocean in the forest telegraph cove survived mainly because of tourism we had the whale watching and there's the bear watching now and so all these different enterprises slowly built up over the years when the commercial fishing and some of the logging industries have had a pretty tough time so that's why the cope survived the town is steeped in history at the end of telegraph cove's boardwalk lies one of its favorite attractions the whale interpretive center features the community's history marine exhibits and a rare opportunity to see bones and skeletons of otters dolphins eagles and killer whales one of the reasons for the whale interpretive center here at telegraph cove was uh it was a recommendation of the johnson strait killer well committee that there be somewhere where we could try to educate people about whales and the wildlife that did live in this area [Music] we've got a great collection of skeletons we've got lots of things for kids in the museum so they can come in and have fun and learn and they can touch things which is really nice if things aren't all hidden away in glass cases and that where they just look they can actually feel a whale bone they can look at the aquarium with a fish in it right up close [Music] we've got great plans for the future we've got lots of skeletons to put together yet and it'll be many years before everything's done the biggest reason for it all i think is to try and educate people about the amazing ocean life that lives around the north end of vancouver island set between campbell river and port hardy telegraph cove is one of vancouver island's most isolated communities jim borraman has been guiding visitors here for more than three decades [Music] it is his home and his passion the area we're in right now is a is an amazing archipelago of hundreds and hundreds of islands which give us amazing protection from the weather [Music] it's become this mecca for wildlife more so in the last few years [Music] underwater the marine ecosystem is one of the most prolific invertebrate marine life areas in the world what creates a lot of this life is the high currents that are funneled back and forth through all these channels from shallow to deep water and they create these high current ecosystems which feed your a lot of your life underwater with [Music] plankton we've got stellar sea lions and harbor seals those are a really good chance we can show you uh these northern uh sea lions they're the largest species of sea lion in the world and there is a haul out fairly close to us [Music] they work very closely with the the whole ecosystem a lot of the food that they eat are predators of juvenile salmon so they're very valuable to keep salmon alive and keep the populations of salmon healthy [Music] these are large animals some of them can weigh up close to one tonne they call them lions because they growl they don't bark like the california sea lions they growl like a lion [Music] what i'd love to show you today it would be we've got a possible chance to see the pacific white-sided dolphins they're absolutely amazing to watch the report is there could be several hundred of them okay we're looking good we've got a big school of dolphins this will be very cool these dolphins were approaching right now they are something everybody can relate to they're just these beautiful little animals that roar around out here in the ocean these dolphins are more than two meters long weighing more than 130 kilograms they can live more than 40 years [Music] um [Music] they don't slow down very often they seem to be feeding or traveling at high speed all the time and they everybody thinks they love people because they come to the boats all the time and we're never quite sure why they do that but they they spend a lot of time riding in your waves a great species to watch one of the things that's really neat about this group is there's a lot of brand new young calves in this group that are riding right along beside their mums and that's very positive to see that they're quite a bit smaller still so i would i would guess they've been born fairly recently this year and they're just i think they're feeding they're doing a lot of backwards and forwards things and then they'll race along and stop and dive and then kind of disappear underwater for a little bit [Music] the other thing that they're certainly feeding is the humpback whales and this is probably one of the brightest things to happen on the pacific coast in many many years since the days of commercial whaling when they slaughtered these whales to near extinction they have been making a comeback in a huge way in the last decade there were years we didn't think there were any going through the area at all we would get the odd report from some of the people and researchers in the area but there were many years we wouldn't see a humpback whale ourselves [Music] i can come out from telegraph cove right now almost any given day from spring through summer and right into late fall and there's probably not very many days when i can't find several humpbacks feeding in this area it's spectacular we'll just poke our head around the corner here at this point we had a couple of humpback whales here a while ago we'll see if there's still oh breach the people that were here last week were dying to see that we never saw anything like it until this guy here look at he just did it again look look at him we don't see that very often the humpback is massive 15 meters long and weighing 36 000 kilograms scientists believe it is a highly intelligent creature with complex communication systems and a 25 000 kilometer migratory route in feeding season the whales eat one ton of food per day using their thick strands of hair like a strainer catching plankton and small fish it is a unique feeding system and one that makes for a rare display it's a really interesting situation we get occasionally and it's these pacific white-sided dolphins that have been swimming around the boat and the humpback whales the humpbacks go through a big ball of herring with their mouth open and there's quite a bit of spillage the herring get bounced all over the place some of them get killed they're floating around and we know that the dolphins will come in and they'll pick them up what happens is the humpback starts to make these trumpeting sounds on the surface especially or bugling we call it and we think the humpbacks irritated by this behavior of the dolphins they're kind of getting mobbed so we're not sure if they're trying to get a free meal off the humpbacks or if it's just a pestering situation but from our perspective it's neat to watch it you see a lot of surface activity uh [Music] so i think probably a lot of people are attracted to one is their beauty and they're mysterious we've been studying these whales post whaling era for 40 years more than 40 years now and we've learned a lot about their habits their behaviors the humpback songs we know a little bit about that the sounds the killer whales make when they're communicating with each other that's how they stay in touch but there's so much we don't know there's a huge voids every time we learn one thing it opens ten more doors and then asks at least another hundred questions [Music] they're a barometer for the uh the oceans uh that they live in they they sort of represent the good side of life [Music] underwater located two kilometers off vancouver island cormorant island is home to just over 500 people [Music] it is a vibrant community home to the numgees people and part of the kwakwakawak first nation life changed here forever in 1921 when police raided a nearby potlatch or first nation gathering [Music] seizing sacred regalia an attack on the kwakwakawaka people [Music] today some of that honor has been restored not far from the world's tallest totem pole the regalia surrendered under duress is part of a proud collection at the umista cultural center from 1884 till 1951 the potlatch was was against the law according to the indian act and in 1921 my father had a potlatch people were arrested tried and some were sent to jail 26 i think were sent to jail they agreed to give up all their masks and things they used in a potlatch and then promised not to potlatch anymore until the law was changed they thought that our people were heathens believing in something other than than what the church believed in i think it was probably an idea by the government to separate us from our ceremonies separate us from our language and our customs [Music] in the early 70s our people started to work on repatriation of the apollos collection and up until 1980 when the federal government agreed to return their part of the collection if we built a facility that could properly house the collection and we had a great celebration when these pieces were returned and of course when people go into this building our people especially they feel that the spirits of our of our old people are here with us today so it's a very very special place for our people here you see the uh this part of the potlatch collection and uh the collection is is uh place just probably the way the collection the pieces would be used in our ceremony [Music] these are said to be uh cannibal bird masks that are uh uh said to be servants of the cannibal spirit who lives in the north end of the world and the the dance the dance is about a young man who goes into the forest and gets possessed by the cannibal spirit these bass that you see over here are used in what we call the peace dances [Music] these are more fun fun type part of our ceremonies so this is the way we used to pass on our history is through the potlatch ceremonies where we invite people to witness what's being done and they in turn remember tell other people about what they witnessed at the ceremony for chief cranmer and the kwakwakawak people the regalia collection in the umista cultural center is at the heart of their community not far away in alert-based traditional big house the legacy of the regalia lives on through the work of the zatzatzla cultural group young people specializing in first nations dance we are the kwako kyok people we speak the kuakula language and there's 18 tribes that we represent here on the northern tip of vancouver island this is a rare opportunity for visitors to experience the rich traditions of alert bay's big house often closed to the public today you're standing in our big house we dance on a dirt floor we have a fire in the middle of the floor the smoke of the fire will take away any negative or bad energy and bring it to the creator it is a rich palette of culture and history drawing local people and visitors alike to experience this unique cultural display we created the group to travel to cultural gatherings canoe gatherings anything that was positive we would bring our cultural group there and then about seven years ago we changed into cultural tourism so we invite people into our house and we want to educate them and tell them our story from our who we are and let people know that we're alive and well and we still have a culture that's intact even though we live in 2012. the dances approved by local elders are said to remain unchanged since being revealed by the creator generations ago teaching young people not only how to sing and dance but the history the traditional values the traditional beliefs that we have our spiritual laws are very important in today's world and we see products of success through our young people because they're vibrant and they feel good about themselves and they have joy in their faces when they're cruising around not only in this house but in the bigger world the dances draw on legacies of the past including traditional red cedar bark ceremonies and ceremonial peace dances the most important dance of all is the sacred cannibal dance a reenactment of a young man possessed by a cannibal spirit from the north end of the world through the course of the dance the songs and rituals bring this young man back to his human self today we always when we share dances from our treasure box we always share dances that connect us to the spirits of either things from the sea or we connect to things from the sky the elements of the world like the weather the fish that swim in the waters it always shows a connection our people our belief as traditional people is that we're connected to all living things the group was formed 15 years ago and embraces members of all ages from infants to seniors the hope is that alert-based youth will carry these traditions into the future [Music] [Music] uh [Music] my belief is that i grew up in culture a lot of the people in my age bracket the ones that stay close to culture are the ones that are successful today in our world and our grandparents and our parents invested in us even though when we're growing up we thought oh well i don't really want to dance and act silly but ever since i've been involved in culture it's been evident that it's the strength and it gives us confidence and to live in a world that we live in our young people that we connect to they know they know who they are and they give us strength and we give them strength so in my heart this is my purpose in my lifetime is to carry on in our traditional way and teach it to our young people from a true place [Music] and because we're spirit beings that's why we come to this house it nurtures our spirit so that we can live and help in the bigger picture of life 10 kilometers west of cormorant island lies vancouver island [Music] here the waters widen and johnston strait becomes queen charlotte strait [Music] far below lies the town of port mcneil [Music] this is one of the few communities along this remote stretch of coast it is home to more than 2 600 people the hub of northern vancouver island [Music] the serene setting is surrounded by mountains rainforests and tiny islands [Music] fort mcneil is named after boston-based explorer william henry mcneill of the hudson's bay company [Music] he first arrived in 1830 sailing 19 000 kilometers around cape horn on a fur trading expedition [Music] the area was later settled in the 1930s as a logging camp [Music] as forestry developed along the coast port mcneil became the main center of logging operations for the area [Music] today that tradition continues the waterfront is a constant buzz of [Music] activity barges regularly transport logs to pulp and paper mills in the south [Music] port mcneil supplies eight percent of british columbia's total harvest and the industry employs more than a quarter of the town's residents [Music] further north this is port hardy the northernmost settlement on vancouver [Music] [Music] island once a blue-collar town many believe port hardy's future is green with northern vancouver island quickly gaining a reputation as one of the world's unexplored wilderness gems [Music] port hardy is the gateway to that region marking the end of vancouver island's highway system [Music] the ferry terminal and small air fleet are the only connections to points [Music] beyond [Music] heading west cross country signs of human civilization are left behind much of northern vancouver island's interior is uninhabited [Music] dense forests and a maze of narrow winding waterways [Music] beyond marble river provincial park the waters of quatzino sound widen [Music] remote gravel beaches run for kilometers [Music] finally in the distance the vast expanse of the pacific ocean comes into view along the northwest coast of vancouver island [Music] vancouver island's western coastline stretches more than 300 kilometers but is home to just a few thousand [Music] people [Music] [Music] the northern region is nearly void of human presence a stunning stretch of rocky shoreline [Music] [Music] along the coast sea arches and sea caves dot the horizon vancouver island has the highest concentration of caves in canada with more than one thousand chartered on the island [Music] they are an eerie window into the past a shelter for animals plants and insects over thousands of [Music] years [Music] in the distance cape cook named after explorer captain james cook looms on the horizon [Music] and just offshore an even greater spectacle [Music] this is solander island a small ecological reserve a sanctuary for sea life including nesting cormorants and puffins and on rocks adjacent to the island california and stellar sea lions have used this as a stopping place for generations [Music] back on shore brooks peninsula is a geological anomaly one of the few regions to remain ice free during the ice age today it is home to rare plant species and unique geological formations a rare case study for [Music] scientists [Music] beyond brooks peninsula scattered islands dot the landscape for more than 20 kilometers [Music] the bunsby islands are a favorite set in the checklist bay ecological reserve [Music] it is a natural wonder and a rare chance for a close-up view of whales sea otters and the mighty bald eagle [Music] further the mission group islands are a smattering of rocky outcroppings inaccessible by land the area surrounding these islands is a destination for offshore explorers with awesome coastal mountains and dense rainforests as a backdrop this is considered one of the world's top sea kayaking destinations [Music] timeless beauty and solitude in the sheltered waters of vancouver island's remote marine [Music] perimeter [Music] [Music] [Music] finally nutka island and nutka sound mark the end of this coastal chapter with nutka a possible translation of the first nations expression a place to go around it was here that european exploration first began the spanish passed through in 1794 but it was captain james cook who first landed in 1778 naming the island and the body of water [Music] from the spectacular human settlements of telegraph cove on vancouver island's northern coastline to the offshore cultural treasure of alert bay on cormorant island to the natural habitats of the island's stunning wildlife this stretch of vancouver island continues to be an offshore ethereal wonder it is hundreds of kilometers of seldom seen wilderness along one of the world's untouched [Music] frontiers [Music] a preserved beauty that lives on in this formidable coastal region here on the edge of canada [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: Joshua Oak

Views: 90,203

Keywords:

Id: e2A3gDAsB_k

Length: 50min 1sec (3001 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 11 2020