Exhibit Label

According to archeological record, the Queen Charlotte Islands were populated at least seven thousand years ago. Haida traditions claim the origin of humankind in the islands, but they also tell of the subsequent arrival of the ancestors of certain lineages by sea. In either case, the ancient Haida were of necessity expert canoeists, and generations of hard and practical experience made them unsurpassed designers, makers, and users of canoes. This canoe model was made by the renowned Haida artist Charles Edenshaw. (Holm, Spirit and Ancestor, 1987)