July 11, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
New Hazelton, Historic & Heritage Sites
View a larger image on flickr.com
If you're travelling in Northwest BC, the 'Ksan Historical Village & Museum is a stop that should not be missed! I recently visited the site and was really impressed by the tour that I received. The tour will cost $10 instead of the $5 fee for just wandering around, but it's WELL worth it!
My tour guide showed our small group into each of the 3 clan houses where an audio tour led us through each part of the detailed displays. My favourite was the Fireweed house, which featured the masks, clothing, and props used in ceremonies and celebrations - keep an eye out for the one-horned goat!
After our tour, I visited the site's museum and gift shop. Did you know that this was the very first First Nations museum in the country? Me neither!
I really enjoyed my first visit to the ‘Ksan Historical Village, and I’ll definitely be going back again soon!
July 11, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
New Hazelton, Historic & Heritage Sites
View a larger image on flickr.com
I recently visited the New Hazelton area and ventured up to Kispiox. If you travel down Totem Drive in Kispiox, it will lead you straight to 10 totem poles erected near the place where the Kispiox and Skeena Rivers meet. Each pole is completely different from the next in height, diameter, and the carved figures. I found it interesting that some of the poles were only carved partway up, and others featured birds or other animals perched on top while others had bare tops. I’ll definitely have to do some research into the meaning of this…or better yet, stop by the Kispiox cultural centre where they provide guided tours of the poles – I’m sure they’d know exactly why this is!
Seeing these 10 poles side-by-side really helped me appreciate the amount of time and skill that goes in to creating each pole. I’m hoping to travel to Kitwanga and Gitanyow to see the totem poles in those villages as well!
July 10, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
New Hazelton, Historic & Heritage Sites
View a larger image on flickr.com
On Wednesday, July 6th Hazelton Visitor Centre along with Smithers and Terrace Visitor Centre’s went on a tour of the Hazelton’s. We met at Hazelton Visitor Centre at 10 and then headed out to see the sights of the Hazelton area. We started out by driving along the Kispiox Valley Road out to Kispiox Village where we saw some beautiful Totem Poles. There are fifteen Totem Poles along the river where the Kispiox and Skeena River combine into just the Skeena.
After taking a billion pictures and looking at the Totem Poles we continued on to the next stop which wasn’t very far. We stopped at the Cultural Centre which is right in Kispiox Village and though we were rushed we went inside and saw all the beautiful native artwork that was on display. We then continued back to Hazelton where we stopped at K’san Historical Village & Museum.
Now, I have lived in Hazelton for 18 years and I have never been on an actual tour of K’san. I have been down there plenty of times, but have never gotten a tour and I must say I have been missing out! We aren’t even inside the buildings yet and you can feel the power of the ancient civilization in the air. The feeling K’san gives you make you feel like you are actually in a village and you want to learn more. So, the tour starts and as soon as you walk in the smells, the look everything makes you feel like you are in a real longhouse years and years ago. The audio voice tells you about how the First Nations lived in the old days and how things worked. They also tell you about how the First Nations live today. It is neat because you go along the time line and learn about the culture. It is hard to explain, all I have to say is go to K’san, spend 45 minutes of your day to get totally immersed and learn about the Native culture.