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This is Canada -

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magnificent, beautiful and raw.

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A giant of a country
too vast to ever be tamed.

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A place where nature rules
and mankind stands in awe.

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For this series, I've travelled
the breadth of the land

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and marvelled at its rich
and varied scenery.

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My journey's taken me
on an unforgettable adventure.

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I've followed in the footsteps
of great of explorers and heroes
of mine who helped shape this land.

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They came to make their fortunes,
trading animal furs,

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and thrived by learning the skills
of the native people here.

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THEY LAUGH HEARTILY

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But their arrival changed
the lives of those people forever.

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GUN SHOT

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I've got one last stop
on my trek across this amazing
Northern Wilderness.

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The last leg of my journey brings me
here, to the West Coast of Canada.

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This side of the Rockies,
the climate, the plants,

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even the wildlife, are really quite
different to the rest of Canada.

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In fact, it almost feels
like a separate country.

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That posed a unique set of
challenges

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for the First Nations
who inhabited this land,

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and that's what I want to explore
in this programme.

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So I'm going to soak up
this landscape,

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find out what life was like here
before the fur trade arrived

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and learn ancient bushcraft skills

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with some of the descendents
of those First Nations people.

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Boy, that's hot!

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After travelling across Canada
from east to west,

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I've arrived at the far
west coast of British Columbia -

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Vancouver Island.

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The capital, Victoria, bears
all the signs of 21st-century life.

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But, just 200 years ago, this area
was cut off from the rest of Canada

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and immune from so-called progress
until fur trader David Thompson

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crossed the Rockies
and opened a workable land route
across the country.

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I really want to know how people
lived here,

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in this last part of Canada
to be explored by Europeans,

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and how much, if any,
of that old way of life remains.

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In terms of the exploration
of Canada,

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the West Coast really was
the last piece in the jigsaw.

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Once explorers like David Thompson
and others had surveyed routes
across the Rockies,

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Canada was fully open for business
as a trading nation.

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It wasn't long until
railroads crossed the continent,

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allowing hordes of settlers
and entrepreneurs to head here

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in the hope of finding new and
lucrative lives on the West Coast.

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That was to have a dramatic impact
on the First Nations who lived here.

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They had already established
a unique culture,

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sandwiched as they were between
the bountiful forests of the west
and the Pacific Ocean.

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They reaped a rich harvest
from both

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that enabled them to spend
virtually all winter

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in a period
of spiritual celebration.

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These celebrations
had been taking place,

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unseen by outsiders, for centuries.

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This coastal area had been
separated from the rest of Canada

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by the Rockies - the vast
mountain area standing guard

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like a giant "no entry" sign.

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Fur traders in search of beaver

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found their way blocked
time and time again.

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But once a viable trade route
had been opened,

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Europeans raced across the land
to the Pacific coast,

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bringing with them trade items which
would change life here forever.

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And what those traders found
on the other side of the Rockies
was like a whole new world.

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So what did they find
when they reached the west coast?

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Well, they didn't find beaver pelts.

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Instead, they turned their attention
to the fur from sea otters

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but there were other things

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that really quickened
the entrepreneurial pulse.

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They saw in the autumn the estuaries
were virtually choked silver

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with a seemingly limitless
supply of salmon.

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And when the lumber men encountered
the giant western red cedars

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growing in the temperate rainforest,
they thought they'd hit the jackpot.

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Many of the trees here
are 800 years old, some even older.

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That takes them back
to the days of King John,

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long before any Europeans
set foot on this coast.

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Trees inspire me, I have to say.
I think they're magnificent.

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And they have very little choice
in where their seed falls.

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Where the seed falls,
the tree grows,

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and there it has to stand
and weather the storms of time,

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nature and change. These trees,
what have they looked down upon?

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At the beginning of this tree's
life,

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the local people here would come
into the forest to harvest timber

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and harvest bark using stone tools
and antler wedges

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and today it's a different story.

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There's the hasty tool
of the modern age, the chainsaw.

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I would really like to have the
opportunity to hear what a tree

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would have to say in commentary
about us.

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When I was a child, I grew up
under the shade of a red cedar,

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a western red cedar,

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and in the autumn
some of the old leaves would fall.

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I'd collect those and I'd light
a simple fire and burn the leaves.

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I loved the smell of the cedar,
it's a very special tree.

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It has a real presence,
it stands out amongst
other trees in my mind,

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so to come here, it's like knowing
one lone individual to see
the whole tribe. It's fantastic.

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They really are magnificent.
It's like being in a cathedral.

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This is a truly wonderful place.
I couldn't feel more at home.

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In fact, there's even an island here
with my name on it - Meares Island.

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Sadly, it's not named
after one of my ancestors,

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but it is a unique
and special place.

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Nowhere else on my journey
across Canada have I seen anywhere
as magical as this.

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Its serene beauty
combines with an immense majesty

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that just takes your breath away.

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What's interesting
is the flora here.

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This is a temperate rainforest
and it's absolutely glorious.

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I love these environments,

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I think mostly because
it's a whole eco system.

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We've got mosses and lichens
and fungi, it's fascinating.

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But the sheer majesty of the trees,

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they make you feel so small,
so insignificant.

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This coast has to be not only
one of the most tantalising

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but also one of the most seductive
places on earth.

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The warm Pacific air
rises over the mountains,

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shrouding them in mist,
and releases its moisture as rain,

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producing lush forests
of not only cedar,

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but also hemlock and Douglas fir.

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They dominate the landscape,
proud and steadfast.

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Nature at its most magnificent.

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But it's the mighty cedar
which has been the life-blood
for the First Nations here,

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providing the material
to build their homes,

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canoes and even their clothes.

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Giselle Martin is my guide
to the area

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and to the skills
of the people here.

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She's a member
of the Nuu Chah Nulth people

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and is as passionate about trees
as I am.

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Believe it or not, this trunk can
actually be woven if you know how.

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Giselle, what are you looking for
in the bark?

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Well, I look for a tree
that has beautiful straight bark,

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so really nice grain like this,

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about as big as you can hug
is a good size.

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I only take one or two hand widths
of bark.

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I don't take too much of it cos
I don't want to leave a huge scar.

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I want it to be able to recuperate.
And so what's the process?

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Well, when we go out to gather bark,

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we always say a prayer to the tree
to thank it

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and explain what we're gonna do.

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Giselle's family have been
stripping bark for generations

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and I really admire the respect
she has for the trees.

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Beautiful, that's really great.

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And then, once you get enough,

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you can actually just shove your
hand right under it.

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BARK CREAKS AWAY FROM TREE

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It's a great sound, isn't it?

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Now we gotta pull it!
That's the fun part!

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'All over Meares island there are
hundreds of trees bearing evidence

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'of how they have been stripped
over the centuries -

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'scarred,
but still growing tall and strong.'

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Well, that's quite tricky, isn't it?

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How about if I take it
from here and swing down on it?
Yeah, let's do that.

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Wee-ah!

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'You really don't want to know how
long it took to pull a strip off!'

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In the early spring sometimes
it isn't as hard to separate.

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'While Giselle
takes the back off the bark

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'to reveal the soft fibres
for weaving,

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'I'm busy working on a two-foot
section to make something
which would have been very familiar

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'to the First Nations of the area.'

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What I've done is I've just made
a makeshift cooking pot.

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If you were out here and you needed
to boil some food,

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you can take the bark
by folding it like that.

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I've taken the outer bark off,
off just the ends,

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leaving it in the central section,
and then I've thinned it

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so that I can fold it up like that
and tie it.

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And now I can put that down

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and put hot rocks in it
to boil water in there.

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A very similar method to this
was used to make canoe bailers.

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They put a handle across and there's
the means for bailing a canoe.

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'Well, you never know when
a canoe bailer will come in handy,

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'so I might as well finish the job.'

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A few mosquitoes about.

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'I'm starting by softening up
some fibres on a long cedar branch

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'to make a flexible withy.'

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No rush, it's important
to do these jobs right.

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So that's all my binding material
ready to go.

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Next job is to make the handle

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and for that I've got this piece of
alder and I'll trim that to length.

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First I need to measure it.

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What I'm doing is trimming the ends
so that they are pretty.

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And now it's the same
for the other end.

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Then I can take a little blade
of grass to give me the dimensions
of the slot that I made.

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Got my mark there on the grass.

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As the alder wood oxidises,
it goes this orange colour

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but after a few days that will fade.

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So I have to cut a slot
in the end of the bark

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to accommodate the handle...

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00:14:17,380 --> 00:14:19,660
..like so. That's good.

182
00:14:19,660 --> 00:14:21,180
Now...

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..this is where the withy
has an advantage

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00:14:28,580 --> 00:14:32,900
over some of the other materials
I could use, is its great strength.

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00:14:32,900 --> 00:14:35,500
I can really lash it tightly.

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And as this dries,
it'll go as hard as wire.

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You can see how tough it is,
even now.

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So that's one end completed.

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00:14:50,620 --> 00:14:52,900
Now, at the other end,
I need to do the same thing.

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Lovely materials to work with -

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00:14:56,220 --> 00:14:58,900
the bark and the withies.

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Well, there we go, it's finished.

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00:15:03,780 --> 00:15:08,140
You can see that, now it's got the
handle on, it's got real strength

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00:15:08,140 --> 00:15:10,740
and this design was used
as a canoe bailer.

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00:15:10,740 --> 00:15:14,780
But, of course, like any basket,
it can be pressed to other uses.

196
00:15:14,780 --> 00:15:19,140
It may be even a basket like this
was used as cradles for children.

197
00:15:19,140 --> 00:15:22,260
Just made on a larger scale
with a bigger piece of bark.

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00:15:22,260 --> 00:15:25,740
Fantastic. And it's exactly
that kind of resourcefulness

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00:15:25,740 --> 00:15:29,580
and the use of the cedar
that enabled people to live here

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00:15:29,580 --> 00:15:32,380
with such ease
for thousands of years.

201
00:15:34,860 --> 00:15:38,900
But while the native people relied
on the cedar for their survival,

202
00:15:38,900 --> 00:15:42,340
others have also seen a value
in the trees.

203
00:15:42,340 --> 00:15:45,980
The logging industry has been big
and valuable business

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00:15:45,980 --> 00:15:50,020
all over British Columbia
since the late 1700s.

205
00:15:50,020 --> 00:15:52,500
Europeans,
who came with the fur trade,

206
00:15:52,500 --> 00:15:56,580
discovered the superior qualities
of the timber for ships' masts.

207
00:15:59,020 --> 00:16:01,580
Over the next 100 years,
forestry grew,

208
00:16:01,580 --> 00:16:03,900
supplying timber all over the world.

209
00:16:03,900 --> 00:16:08,580
Today, forest products still make up
half of British Columbia's exports.

210
00:16:08,580 --> 00:16:13,780
But, as you might expect,
it's a controversial issue.

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00:16:13,780 --> 00:16:16,260
Back on Meares Island, this tree,

212
00:16:16,260 --> 00:16:18,860
known locally as the hanging tree,

213
00:16:18,860 --> 00:16:20,940
has a special story to tell.

214
00:16:21,940 --> 00:16:24,500
So, Giselle, how old is this tree?

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00:16:24,500 --> 00:16:27,340
Nobody knows
because it is hollow on the inside.

216
00:16:27,340 --> 00:16:32,380
But everyone estimates somewhere
between 1,500 and 2,000.

217
00:16:32,380 --> 00:16:37,220
It must be every bit of that. It's
a magnificent, magnificent tree.

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00:16:37,220 --> 00:16:40,620
And it's got quite
a recent history as well, hasn't it?

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00:16:40,620 --> 00:16:45,660
It does. In 1984, Meares Island
was going to be clear-cut logged

220
00:16:45,660 --> 00:16:50,460
and we had one of the first
logging protests in Canada here.

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00:16:50,460 --> 00:16:53,620
Our people declared Meares Island
a tribal park

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00:16:53,620 --> 00:16:56,940
and we took the government to court
over the issue

223
00:16:56,940 --> 00:17:01,100
and in their own courts
the Canadian government can't prove
they own this land

224
00:17:01,100 --> 00:17:03,380
because we never signed
treaties with them.

225
00:17:03,380 --> 00:17:07,060
The court case went on
for about ten years.

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00:17:07,060 --> 00:17:10,580
In 1993, they initiated
the treaty process with us,

227
00:17:10,580 --> 00:17:15,300
so we put the Meares Island
court case on hold
and it's been on hold ever since.

228
00:17:15,300 --> 00:17:17,700
We're still in treaty negotiations
today.

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00:17:17,700 --> 00:17:21,220
So this area is still not under
protection? It's not protected, no.

230
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It's just caught up in red tape.

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00:17:23,460 --> 00:17:25,660
This kind of forest
is so rare in the world

232
00:17:25,660 --> 00:17:30,900
and, though this tree is huge,
it's not just a tree,
it's covered in life.

233
00:17:30,900 --> 00:17:34,860
There are bugs in this tree
that probably have never been
discovered by scientists.

234
00:17:34,860 --> 00:17:37,980
We're surrounded by lichens
and mosses and medicines

235
00:17:37,980 --> 00:17:41,620
that pharmaceutical companies
would love to know about.

236
00:17:41,620 --> 00:17:46,820
And the cedar tree,
for our people traditionally,
has been the tree of life.

237
00:17:46,820 --> 00:17:51,700
We got all of our housing, our
totem poles, our canoes out of it.

238
00:17:51,700 --> 00:17:56,180
The bark made our clothing,
our mats, our sails, blankets.

239
00:17:56,180 --> 00:17:58,300
So it is really important.

240
00:18:00,180 --> 00:18:02,340
Giselle's people,
the Nuu Chah Nulth,

241
00:18:02,340 --> 00:18:07,340
are a group that incorporates
15 different indigenous nations.

242
00:18:08,860 --> 00:18:12,660
Nuu Chah Nulth means
"along the mountains and sea".

243
00:18:15,980 --> 00:18:20,060
Giselle begins making a little
basket with the bark
we stripped on Meares Island.

244
00:18:20,060 --> 00:18:24,300
It's great to watch her working
the cedar this traditional way.

245
00:18:26,220 --> 00:18:29,860
I think it's very difficult
for people outside of Canada

246
00:18:29,860 --> 00:18:33,860
to understand the complexities
of the tribal connections

247
00:18:33,860 --> 00:18:37,700
because there's kind of
a simple view of how things were.

248
00:18:37,700 --> 00:18:41,220
Yeah, I've often heard different
ideas, you know, that people here

249
00:18:41,220 --> 00:18:45,060
were hunters and gatherers, but
we did also have a lot of gardens.

250
00:18:45,060 --> 00:18:48,900
We managed our land and resources
very, very carefully.

251
00:18:48,900 --> 00:18:53,180
There isn't an inch of land here
that was no man's land.

252
00:18:53,180 --> 00:18:56,460
It was all tended by humans
for thousands of years.

253
00:18:56,460 --> 00:19:01,340
There's just a huge variety of
plants and animals

254
00:19:01,340 --> 00:19:06,100
and food and materials
that we can utilise here.

255
00:19:06,100 --> 00:19:10,620
We have so much that we can get
from the ocean and the mountains

256
00:19:10,620 --> 00:19:12,900
and the forests and the rivers.

257
00:19:12,900 --> 00:19:16,420
Well, is this starting to look
like something or what?

258
00:19:16,420 --> 00:19:19,260
GISELLE LAUGHS

259
00:19:20,260 --> 00:19:22,580
Shouldn't take too much longer.

260
00:19:24,140 --> 00:19:26,580
Wow, that's looking great.
Look at that!

261
00:19:26,580 --> 00:19:28,980
Beautiful work.

262
00:19:49,060 --> 00:19:50,820
It's really great to meet Giselle.

263
00:19:50,820 --> 00:19:55,900
She's got both the youth
and determination to keep those
traditional skills alive.

264
00:19:55,900 --> 00:19:59,300
All over the world,
as elders pass away,

265
00:19:59,300 --> 00:20:01,980
so old knowledge dies with them.

266
00:20:05,340 --> 00:20:07,740
But I am heartened because I know
that in many communities

267
00:20:07,740 --> 00:20:10,260
there are other individuals,
like her,

268
00:20:10,260 --> 00:20:13,540
working hard
to keep that flame burning.

269
00:20:18,100 --> 00:20:23,420
I want to know who she's inherited
her knowledge
and interest in her culture from,

270
00:20:23,420 --> 00:20:27,060
so she's taking me to meet
her father, Joe, a wood carver.

271
00:20:27,060 --> 00:20:29,580
This is my dad, Joe.

272
00:20:29,580 --> 00:20:32,820
How you doing? Nice to meet you.
How you doing?

273
00:20:32,820 --> 00:20:35,540
Can you still smell the cedar?

274
00:20:35,540 --> 00:20:40,580
The cedar,
I don't smell it any more.
I've been working on it too long.

275
00:20:40,580 --> 00:20:44,780
If I've been away for some time, I
will begin to smell it again, yeah.

276
00:20:46,460 --> 00:20:49,380
It's so aromatic in here.
It's a beautiful smell.

277
00:20:49,380 --> 00:20:51,220
Do you collect timber
from the forest?

278
00:20:51,220 --> 00:20:55,620
Most of the wood that I do get
for carving canoes or totem poles,

279
00:20:55,620 --> 00:20:58,820
I usually go into the forest myself.
How did you learn to do all this?

280
00:20:58,820 --> 00:21:03,940
Well, my father was a fisherman,
hunter, trapper, canoe builder.

281
00:21:03,940 --> 00:21:09,540
So, on all of those things, he
just let me learn on my own speed.

282
00:21:11,060 --> 00:21:15,420
One of the skills passed on to Joe
is the art of using steam

283
00:21:15,420 --> 00:21:17,860
to bend the soft
but strong cedar into boxes.

284
00:21:17,860 --> 00:21:22,020
These boxes are unique to the area
and have been used for centuries.

285
00:21:22,020 --> 00:21:27,060
The special qualities of cedar
makes it pliable when heated

286
00:21:27,060 --> 00:21:29,860
and then sets rock hard as it cools.

287
00:21:30,860 --> 00:21:34,780
So this is a box that you've bent
with steam? It is, yes.

288
00:21:34,780 --> 00:21:38,340
God, that's amazing. You've got
down almost to one growth ring.

289
00:21:38,340 --> 00:21:40,540
That's astonishing.

290
00:21:40,540 --> 00:21:43,220
Of course, in the early days,
they didn't have metal either.

291
00:21:43,220 --> 00:21:50,420
No. No they didn't,
they just had stone, bone and fire.
It's incredible, isn't it? Yeah.

292
00:21:50,420 --> 00:21:51,460
Beautiful.

293
00:21:52,780 --> 00:21:56,220
These bent corners of wood
started off flat.

294
00:21:56,220 --> 00:21:59,140
The First Nations
would cut grooves in the wood.

295
00:21:59,140 --> 00:22:02,060
Then they'd heat the plank
over steam pits on the beach

296
00:22:02,060 --> 00:22:05,180
and, when it softened,
they'd bend it to make the corners.

297
00:22:05,180 --> 00:22:09,380
This was a way of making
incredibly strong and hardy boxes

298
00:22:09,380 --> 00:22:11,820
with the most primitive of tools.

299
00:22:13,380 --> 00:22:17,260
But in the old days,
these were tremendously important?

300
00:22:17,260 --> 00:22:21,820
They were, they were used for many
things, like carrying water.

301
00:22:21,820 --> 00:22:25,140
Before we had metal pots,
they would cook in these things.

302
00:22:25,140 --> 00:22:31,100
Then finally the larger ones
like this, when I pass on,
you put me inside one of those.

303
00:22:31,100 --> 00:22:34,620
Wow, that's amazing! Stick me up
in a tree or something.

304
00:22:34,620 --> 00:22:38,420
Go back to the tree! There you go.
Don't want you going deaf.

305
00:22:38,420 --> 00:22:43,660
That's great. I can't hear
the director now. No, OK.

306
00:22:43,660 --> 00:22:45,900
SAW WHIRRS

307
00:22:47,340 --> 00:22:52,060
Even Joe occasionally swaps
a chisel for an electric saw
to speed up a job.

308
00:23:01,580 --> 00:23:04,540
Just like Joe, this carving shed
is my spiritual home

309
00:23:04,540 --> 00:23:06,660
and I can't wait to get stuck in

310
00:23:06,660 --> 00:23:09,740
and give him a hand
making a lid for the box.

311
00:23:12,100 --> 00:23:13,780
Earlier on my travels,

312
00:23:13,780 --> 00:23:17,300
I carved with the Algonquin people
of Eastern Canada

313
00:23:17,300 --> 00:23:20,500
using a crooked knife,
a bit like this.

314
00:23:20,500 --> 00:23:24,580
But each tool has its own traits,
so I'm going very carefully.

315
00:23:26,180 --> 00:23:30,380
I'm conscious here that I'm trying
to take great care because
I'm not familiar with the tool.

316
00:23:30,380 --> 00:23:33,420
You can take wood off
but you can't put it on.

317
00:23:33,420 --> 00:23:35,420
It's true. You have to be careful.

318
00:23:43,980 --> 00:23:46,940
You get to know a tool, don't you?

319
00:23:46,940 --> 00:23:49,020
You know its idiosyncrasies.

320
00:23:49,020 --> 00:23:50,540
Patience.

321
00:24:01,060 --> 00:24:03,700
Tell me about the decoration there.

322
00:24:03,700 --> 00:24:09,180
These are decorations we've put on
these things here,
they're crests that people have.

323
00:24:09,180 --> 00:24:13,020
In this case, this here is
the eagle and then the salmon.

324
00:24:13,020 --> 00:24:18,100
The eagle here, they only take
the fishes that they need
to feed their young ones.

325
00:24:18,100 --> 00:24:23,140
Gives a reminder to respect
the other creatures here as well.

326
00:24:23,140 --> 00:24:26,020
We have to leave some fish
for them also.

327
00:24:26,020 --> 00:24:29,740
They're about the first law
and the first teaching that began

328
00:24:29,740 --> 00:24:31,980
when our mothers conceived our lives

329
00:24:31,980 --> 00:24:34,020
and that's first about self-respect.

330
00:24:34,020 --> 00:24:36,900
My grandfather used to speak
about that first law.

331
00:24:36,900 --> 00:24:40,580
He'd never raise his voice,
he'd always just sit there

332
00:24:40,580 --> 00:24:42,820
and speak about being respectful

333
00:24:42,820 --> 00:24:44,860
and how we're to be respectful,

334
00:24:44,860 --> 00:24:47,060
first to ourselves
and then to others.

335
00:24:47,060 --> 00:24:51,860
That's why we have carvings
on our tools

336
00:24:51,860 --> 00:24:54,980
and totem poles in front
of our houses and it was like

337
00:24:54,980 --> 00:24:58,140
having your bible open
in front of your face 24/7.

338
00:24:58,140 --> 00:25:02,740
So we're always reminded of our
roles and responsibilities in life

339
00:25:02,740 --> 00:25:06,340
and how we all live
under natural law.

340
00:25:06,340 --> 00:25:07,940
Everyone.

341
00:25:07,940 --> 00:25:11,300
I'm born and I'm gonna die one day.
The natural law.

342
00:25:11,300 --> 00:25:13,660
And respect to nature. Mm-hmm.

343
00:25:13,660 --> 00:25:18,820
Nature will provide our needs
but not our greeds, so that's why
we have a lot of these things here.

344
00:25:27,540 --> 00:25:30,900
The First Nations believe
that all things in nature

345
00:25:30,900 --> 00:25:34,060
were interconnected
through the circle of life,

346
00:25:34,060 --> 00:25:38,140
and this guided their hand
when harvesting natural resources

347
00:25:38,140 --> 00:25:41,620
so that they would take only
what they needed and nothing more.

348
00:25:41,620 --> 00:25:45,740
One of the most important resources
of all was the whale,

349
00:25:45,740 --> 00:25:50,100
and whale hunting was a very
specialist and communal activity.

350
00:25:58,580 --> 00:26:01,860
It took a huge amount of effort
to mount a whale hunt.

351
00:26:01,860 --> 00:26:04,100
The equipment was astonishing.

352
00:26:04,100 --> 00:26:07,140
Specialist harpoons
had to be constructed,

353
00:26:07,140 --> 00:26:10,180
very often using
a shell to make the blade.

354
00:26:12,180 --> 00:26:16,980
The men involved in the hunting were
trained from childhood to be strong,

355
00:26:16,980 --> 00:26:18,900
with great degrees of endurance.

356
00:26:18,900 --> 00:26:22,100
Boys were encouraged to be able
to hold their breath.

357
00:26:22,100 --> 00:26:26,220
They were given a fern frond and
they were told to hold their breath

358
00:26:26,220 --> 00:26:30,900
while they pulled off the leaves
of the frond like this.

359
00:26:30,900 --> 00:26:35,020
As their ability grew,
so did the length of the fern.

360
00:26:35,020 --> 00:26:40,460
And they trained their youth to be
strong in manhood for the most
important hunt - the whale hunt.

361
00:26:47,460 --> 00:26:52,700
Once a whale was harpooned,
the huntsmen tried to steer it back
to the community,

362
00:26:52,700 --> 00:26:54,620
so that it would tow their canoes -

363
00:26:54,620 --> 00:26:59,820
much easier than having to paddle
the heavy weight of a whale
back to their community.

364
00:27:01,740 --> 00:27:05,660
Once there, every part of it was
used and there were celebrations.

365
00:27:09,180 --> 00:27:14,700
It was the combination,
not just of immense practical
preparations and training,

366
00:27:14,700 --> 00:27:19,860
but also of spiritual purification
and ceremonies to ensure success.

367
00:27:24,900 --> 00:27:29,940
Whaling canoes were the first
signs of human life
Europeans encountered

368
00:27:29,940 --> 00:27:32,980
when they sailed to this coast
in 1774 -

369
00:27:32,980 --> 00:27:36,580
a full 30 years before the Rockies
had been tamed

370
00:27:36,580 --> 00:27:38,740
and a land route opened.

371
00:27:38,740 --> 00:27:43,300
The Spanish sailors thought
they were war canoes
and sailed swiftly away.

372
00:27:46,860 --> 00:27:51,260
Four years later, Britain's Captain
James Cook arrived on the coast

373
00:27:51,260 --> 00:27:53,700
while searching for the elusive
Northwest Passage

374
00:27:53,700 --> 00:27:57,660
and was the first to set foot ashore
and to trade knives,

375
00:27:57,660 --> 00:28:02,740
blankets and metal tools in return
for food and sea-otter furs.

376
00:28:05,220 --> 00:28:07,420
These pelts were thick and soft

377
00:28:07,420 --> 00:28:10,580
and could be made into
the finest fur coats.

378
00:28:14,500 --> 00:28:18,700
Spain and Britain argued over
the land for more than a decade

379
00:28:18,700 --> 00:28:20,780
and nearly came to war over it.

380
00:28:20,780 --> 00:28:25,300
The dispute was finally settled
by Captain George Vancouver.

381
00:28:25,300 --> 00:28:29,340
Vancouver encouraged trade with the
peoples of the west coast

382
00:28:29,340 --> 00:28:32,660
and even set up a trading post
at Vancouver on the mainland,

383
00:28:32,660 --> 00:28:37,420
which bears his name today
and of course on this island,

384
00:28:37,420 --> 00:28:39,420
also named after him.

385
00:28:49,820 --> 00:28:54,740
Trading between
the Europeans and First Nations
was generally friendly

386
00:28:54,740 --> 00:28:57,820
but occasionally things
were less amicable.

387
00:29:01,460 --> 00:29:05,500
The most famous trading disaster
was that of the brigantine Boston.

388
00:29:05,500 --> 00:29:10,620
It was trading in 1803 with one
of the most powerful leaders
in the area, Chief Maquinna.

389
00:29:10,620 --> 00:29:15,780
After he'd been given
a second-rate trade firearm

390
00:29:15,780 --> 00:29:20,140
and he'd complained about it,
he was insulted by the Captain.

391
00:29:20,140 --> 00:29:24,020
The result of that was the whole
crew, bar two, were massacred.

392
00:29:26,780 --> 00:29:31,780
One of the men survived because he
was below decks, but the other was
singled out for special treatment.

393
00:29:31,780 --> 00:29:33,420
His name was John Jewitt.

394
00:29:33,420 --> 00:29:35,940
He was the ship's blacksmith.

395
00:29:35,940 --> 00:29:39,220
Chief Maquinna was an intelligent
man and he realised that having

396
00:29:39,220 --> 00:29:42,020
someone who could make
metal tools in his long-house

397
00:29:42,020 --> 00:29:45,020
would greatly improve
his standing amongst his people.

398
00:29:45,020 --> 00:29:48,540
After all, metal tools in a society
which was still very heavily

399
00:29:48,540 --> 00:29:52,460
dependent on stone tools
was a very powerful asset.

400
00:29:54,940 --> 00:29:59,980
John Jewitt kept a remarkable record
of his time amongst those people.

401
00:29:59,980 --> 00:30:06,380
He published that after his
release and it provided one of
the earliest accounts of detail

402
00:30:06,380 --> 00:30:10,260
of how people
actually lived here.

403
00:30:10,260 --> 00:30:13,780
The reason we're able to enjoy
those recollections today

404
00:30:13,780 --> 00:30:16,900
is that he used bushcraft
to keep a diary.

405
00:30:16,900 --> 00:30:19,820
Improvising ink
from the juice of berries.

406
00:30:22,260 --> 00:30:26,620
As I always say, bushcraft comes
in handy in all sorts of ways.

407
00:30:31,180 --> 00:30:32,900
Morning, Giselle. Hi!

408
00:30:32,900 --> 00:30:35,260
'Among the things Jewitt
described in his diaries

409
00:30:35,260 --> 00:30:39,020
'are dugout canoes
made from hollowed out cedar trunks.

410
00:30:39,020 --> 00:30:41,100
'They are fabulous craft.'

411
00:30:48,060 --> 00:30:50,260
It's a great way to travel
in this land,

412
00:30:50,260 --> 00:30:53,620
but there must have been a huge
demand for canoes in the past.

413
00:30:53,620 --> 00:30:55,220
There was.

414
00:30:55,220 --> 00:31:00,940
The ocean is our highway
and so everybody needed canoes.

415
00:31:00,940 --> 00:31:04,780
We had small canoes for one person,
two persons, seal-hunting canoes,

416
00:31:04,780 --> 00:31:09,100
whaling canoes and the largest
canoes we had were freight canoes.

417
00:31:09,100 --> 00:31:11,140
They were over 100 feet long

418
00:31:11,140 --> 00:31:15,380
and those were used for
moving entire seasonal villages.

419
00:31:15,380 --> 00:31:17,420
That's amazing.

420
00:31:18,980 --> 00:31:24,380
So, Giselle, are there still
people today with the knowledge of
how to build all those canoes?

421
00:31:24,380 --> 00:31:29,420
My father and two of my uncles
still carve canoes today.

422
00:31:29,420 --> 00:31:32,660
We're really lucky to still
have that knowledge in our family

423
00:31:32,660 --> 00:31:35,420
because it has been lost
over a lot of the coast.

424
00:31:41,020 --> 00:31:43,820
A special feature
of this coastline

425
00:31:43,820 --> 00:31:45,580
are the amazing totem poles.

426
00:31:45,580 --> 00:31:47,820
Each one tells a story.

427
00:31:47,820 --> 00:31:52,380
Many of them are hundreds of years
old and well-weathered and worn,

428
00:31:52,380 --> 00:31:55,140
but still incredibly striking
to look at.

429
00:32:02,060 --> 00:32:04,660
'It's a real privilege
to get a closer look.

430
00:32:04,660 --> 00:32:08,940
'This land isn't normally
accessible to visitors to the area.'

431
00:32:08,940 --> 00:32:12,700
Giselle, you don't normally
bring people here, do you?

432
00:32:12,700 --> 00:32:17,140
No, this is the village of Opitsaht.
It's quite a private community,

433
00:32:17,140 --> 00:32:21,380
though my uncle, who is one of
our hereditary chiefs,

434
00:32:21,380 --> 00:32:24,700
gave me permission to bring you here
and show you this totem pole.

435
00:32:24,700 --> 00:32:27,380
Wow, that's amazing.
Isn't that beautiful?

436
00:32:30,180 --> 00:32:34,140
This carving has been made
with love and care.

437
00:32:34,140 --> 00:32:38,300
Every sign
has been chosen with great thought,

438
00:32:38,300 --> 00:32:40,980
every symbol tells a story.

439
00:32:41,940 --> 00:32:46,460
The all-powerful sun or moon symbol
at the top is an important carving,

440
00:32:46,460 --> 00:32:48,220
reminding people
that, above all,

441
00:32:48,220 --> 00:32:51,060
they should respect themselves
and others.

442
00:32:51,060 --> 00:32:53,820
Then the raven,
symbolising all life

443
00:32:53,820 --> 00:32:56,780
and the need to cherish all life.

444
00:32:56,780 --> 00:33:00,260
Below that is the mythical
two-headed monster

445
00:33:00,260 --> 00:33:06,780
which speaks of the importance
of balance in life.

446
00:33:06,780 --> 00:33:11,940
And finally at the bottom is
the wolf, Giselle's family crest

447
00:33:11,940 --> 00:33:15,660
upholding all the laws of the land
upon its shoulders.

448
00:33:20,460 --> 00:33:23,220
Life changed with
the arrival of the European,

449
00:33:23,220 --> 00:33:25,260
but it was a slow change.

450
00:33:25,260 --> 00:33:28,220
This film was made in 1914

451
00:33:28,220 --> 00:33:32,380
by photographer and
anthropologist Edward S Curtis.

452
00:33:35,060 --> 00:33:37,860
He persuaded local people to act
for his camera,

453
00:33:37,860 --> 00:33:42,380
but the costumes they wore
were their own clothes of the time.

454
00:33:44,660 --> 00:33:48,780
So even if it was staged, the film
shows how, even just 100 years ago,

455
00:33:48,780 --> 00:33:53,180
the people of the area were hardly
touched by the modern world.

456
00:33:56,900 --> 00:34:03,660
The coastal area was so bountiful
that hunting, fishing or collecting
food was a relatively easy task.

457
00:34:04,740 --> 00:34:09,140
This left the native people plenty
of free time in the winter months

458
00:34:09,140 --> 00:34:11,020
to produce unique artwork

459
00:34:11,020 --> 00:34:14,860
which celebrated their love
and respect for nature.

460
00:34:17,900 --> 00:34:24,420
They would spend hours
decorating their houses and their
canoes with bright, bold designs.

461
00:34:24,420 --> 00:34:28,380
They'd make elaborate costumes
for their celebrations.

462
00:34:29,900 --> 00:34:34,020
And they'd carve and paint
incredible masks.

463
00:34:34,020 --> 00:34:39,580
SINGING

464
00:34:52,660 --> 00:34:57,220
These masks were also used in
the West Coast's unique potlatch -

465
00:34:57,220 --> 00:34:59,060
or giving ceremonies.

466
00:35:02,540 --> 00:35:05,700
I've come to the cultural museum
in Alert Bay

467
00:35:05,700 --> 00:35:09,300
which houses an amazing
potlatch collection

468
00:35:09,300 --> 00:35:14,700
and asked Andrea Sanborn to
explain exactly what potlatch is.

469
00:35:14,700 --> 00:35:18,460
The potlatch is our
traditional ceremony.

470
00:35:18,460 --> 00:35:23,500
It's where we recorded births,
marriages, deaths,

471
00:35:23,500 --> 00:35:28,740
transfer of privileges,
transfer of chieftainships -

472
00:35:28,740 --> 00:35:33,060
anything that today you would
go and do in a government office.

473
00:35:33,060 --> 00:35:39,220
In the old days, a potlatch
ceremony would last for many days,

474
00:35:39,220 --> 00:35:45,500
for as long as it would take for the
chief to complete the business that
he felt needed to be transacted.

475
00:35:48,940 --> 00:35:50,420
As the host chief,

476
00:35:50,420 --> 00:35:55,180
he would send out the invitation
to people to come and witness

477
00:35:55,180 --> 00:35:58,740
the events that were being
transacted at the potlatch

478
00:35:58,740 --> 00:36:00,540
and, as a witness,

479
00:36:00,540 --> 00:36:07,420
you accepted responsibility to pass
on the history of those
transactions.

480
00:36:19,500 --> 00:36:22,540
Quite simply, it was
how the culture was handed on

481
00:36:22,540 --> 00:36:24,140
through the generations.

482
00:36:24,140 --> 00:36:28,700
Sadly, European governors banned
the ceremony in 1885

483
00:36:28,700 --> 00:36:32,380
in an effort to civilise
the native people.

484
00:36:32,380 --> 00:36:37,060
This ruling was only overturned
in 1951.

485
00:36:37,060 --> 00:36:41,100
During the prohibition period,
the native people here lost

486
00:36:41,100 --> 00:36:45,380
much of their language,
stories and traditions.

487
00:36:45,380 --> 00:36:51,460
But with the potlatch's
reintroduction has come a renewed
interest in First Nations culture.

488
00:36:53,740 --> 00:36:58,780
Potlatching today is conducted
much like it was in the old days,

489
00:36:58,780 --> 00:37:04,420
but it's a very condensed
ceremony now due to modern life
obligations of the people.

490
00:37:05,940 --> 00:37:11,060
And the gifts today are much
different than the gifts that were
given away in the old days.

491
00:37:12,540 --> 00:37:15,140
I'm so glad potlatch survives.

492
00:37:15,140 --> 00:37:18,340
These marvellous masks
and fantastic stories

493
00:37:18,340 --> 00:37:20,380
could have been lost forever.

494
00:37:26,380 --> 00:37:29,940
The potlatch was
always held in the winter months

495
00:37:29,940 --> 00:37:33,940
as the summer would be spent
hunting and gathering foods.

496
00:37:33,940 --> 00:37:37,620
When people of the region got
together for their celebrations,

497
00:37:37,620 --> 00:37:40,700
they would share all they
had collected or preserved.

498
00:37:40,700 --> 00:37:44,540
So, fisherman would bring fish
to give out and berry gatherers

499
00:37:44,540 --> 00:37:48,700
would bring their pickings,
ensuring everyone had a varied diet.

500
00:37:48,700 --> 00:37:51,700
OK.

501
00:37:51,700 --> 00:37:55,300
It's one of my favourite berries -
the red huckleberry.

502
00:37:55,300 --> 00:37:56,940
It looks like a bilberry.

503
00:37:56,940 --> 00:38:00,540
'I met up with ethno-biologist
Dr Nancy Turner,

504
00:38:00,540 --> 00:38:04,540
'a world authority
on aboriginal plant use.'

505
00:38:04,540 --> 00:38:09,700
This is really one of
my all time favourite berries -
the trailing wild blackberry.

506
00:38:09,700 --> 00:38:12,980
'And she took me berry picking
to see what we could find.'

507
00:38:19,060 --> 00:38:23,100
This is a black cap
or black raspberry.

508
00:38:23,100 --> 00:38:26,780
'I've long been an admirer
of Nancy's work.

509
00:38:26,780 --> 00:38:29,580
'I've read most of her books
and I've always wanted to meet her,

510
00:38:29,580 --> 00:38:33,140
'so this is a great thrill
for me.'

511
00:38:33,140 --> 00:38:36,740
That was a pretty interesting
harvest. How many berries
have we got there?

512
00:38:36,740 --> 00:38:41,020
That was amazing. Five or six
different species of berries.

513
00:38:41,020 --> 00:38:45,140
Five or six within just a few
hundred feet. It's astonishing.

514
00:38:45,140 --> 00:38:50,020
In fact, you know, I've crossed
the continent in the making
of this series and I have seen

515
00:38:50,020 --> 00:38:54,700
no part of Canada with as much
plant food as is available here.

516
00:38:54,700 --> 00:38:58,300
It's a region of plenty,
I would say.

517
00:38:58,300 --> 00:39:00,900
It surprised me because you do,
you think of the salmon,

518
00:39:00,900 --> 00:39:03,740
and the First Nations collecting
and drying the salmon,

519
00:39:03,740 --> 00:39:06,780
but they were also collecting and
drying the berries. Absolutely.

520
00:39:06,780 --> 00:39:10,060
So the amount of food here for
the First Nations was astonishing.

521
00:39:10,060 --> 00:39:14,660
They practised what's often called
the seasonal round,

522
00:39:14,660 --> 00:39:18,420
where they started
at the end of the winter time,

523
00:39:18,420 --> 00:39:23,020
they would stay in their
permanent villages over the winter

524
00:39:23,020 --> 00:39:26,780
and that was the time when they
participated in ceremonies -

525
00:39:26,780 --> 00:39:29,020
their feasts,
their cultural practices.

526
00:39:29,020 --> 00:39:34,460
And then, around the early part
of March or so, there were a lot
of seafoods that were available,

527
00:39:34,460 --> 00:39:39,420
halibut, spring salmon
and these different shellfish.

528
00:39:39,420 --> 00:39:44,420
Then, around May and into June,
the berries started to ripen.

529
00:39:44,420 --> 00:39:50,820
They'd start with the salmonberries
and that was initiated with the
call of the salmonberry bird.

530
00:39:50,820 --> 00:39:53,940
They arrived from their
southern migration

531
00:39:53,940 --> 00:39:58,380
right at the time when the
salmonberries are ripening and then,

532
00:39:58,380 --> 00:40:02,380
gradually, the huckleberries ripen,
the blueberries ripen,

533
00:40:02,380 --> 00:40:04,700
the blackcaps, the thimbleberries,

534
00:40:04,700 --> 00:40:10,580
the trailing blackberries and
then, in September, the crab apples,

535
00:40:10,580 --> 00:40:13,700
the high bush cranberries,
the low bush cranberries.

536
00:40:13,700 --> 00:40:17,420
Their preservation techniques
were fascinating. They really were.

537
00:40:17,420 --> 00:40:21,660
Along the coast here, they used
those bent wood cedar boxes

538
00:40:21,660 --> 00:40:25,260
and they used cooking rocks,
they heat up red hot.

539
00:40:25,260 --> 00:40:27,740
They put the berries
right into the boxes

540
00:40:27,740 --> 00:40:31,380
and add the red hot rocks until the
berries are just coming to a boil

541
00:40:31,380 --> 00:40:34,740
and then they take that berry mix

542
00:40:34,740 --> 00:40:41,300
and they pour it out, mostly on
a surface of skunk cabbage leaves,
and you don't want to eat those,

543
00:40:41,300 --> 00:40:45,980
but they make a great surface for
drying berries on. That tightness,

544
00:40:45,980 --> 00:40:48,540
that bond with nature, is one
of the things that's common

545
00:40:48,540 --> 00:40:51,740
to all of the First Nations
that I've encountered in Canada.

546
00:40:51,740 --> 00:40:52,860
That's for sure.

547
00:40:52,860 --> 00:40:55,860
Because they're living right
within it, they're part of it.

548
00:40:55,860 --> 00:40:59,540
They're not above it,
or separated from it.

549
00:40:59,540 --> 00:41:03,460
Meeting up with Nancy
here on the West Coast

550
00:41:03,460 --> 00:41:07,700
was like the icing on the cake
for me, and she reiterated

551
00:41:07,700 --> 00:41:09,420
what I was discovering,

552
00:41:09,420 --> 00:41:13,740
just how interdependent the land
and the people were.

553
00:41:18,180 --> 00:41:21,740
The woodland was a rich source of
food for the First Nations,

554
00:41:21,740 --> 00:41:23,340
but so was the sea.

555
00:41:27,820 --> 00:41:31,140
'Salmon was the most
important fish for the region,

556
00:41:31,140 --> 00:41:33,540
'but other fish
were also plentiful.'

557
00:41:35,260 --> 00:41:38,460
It's a hard piece of wood,
isn't it? Yeah, they are.

558
00:41:38,460 --> 00:41:42,900
'Over the centuries, the First
Nations refined ingenious ways

559
00:41:42,900 --> 00:41:46,060
'of catching
each of the different species.

560
00:41:54,900 --> 00:41:59,260
'Joe and I are carving
a Douglas fir knot to make
a hook for catching halibut.

561
00:41:59,260 --> 00:42:03,900
'As with the cedar, this wood is
flexible enough to be steam bent.'

562
00:42:12,260 --> 00:42:16,260
It now has a nice
triangular cross section,

563
00:42:16,260 --> 00:42:19,220
and I've also been checking
that it's got movement through it

564
00:42:19,220 --> 00:42:22,940
because it's got to be bent
right round under steam.

565
00:42:22,940 --> 00:42:24,980
Bit stiffer there,

566
00:42:24,980 --> 00:42:27,940
maybe five minutes more.

567
00:42:29,820 --> 00:42:31,900
'We don't want it to burn,

568
00:42:31,900 --> 00:42:34,580
'so we're using a bulb of kelp
to make a sheath

569
00:42:34,580 --> 00:42:36,580
'that will protect it
from the heat.'

570
00:42:36,580 --> 00:42:39,020
I'll just take that,
toss that in there.

571
00:42:49,020 --> 00:42:50,900
It takes about 15 minutes.

572
00:42:56,780 --> 00:42:59,540
Just gonna take this here
out of here.

573
00:42:59,540 --> 00:43:02,060
Here comes our kelp bulb.
Yeah, look at that.

574
00:43:02,060 --> 00:43:03,820
Look at that, shrivelled, eh?

575
00:43:03,820 --> 00:43:05,340
That's pretty hot.

576
00:43:05,340 --> 00:43:08,180
Oooh! Yai-yai-yai!

577
00:43:08,180 --> 00:43:10,060
Very hot.

578
00:43:10,980 --> 00:43:12,860
Ooh, that is really hot.

579
00:43:16,380 --> 00:43:18,020
Ooh, that's hot.

580
00:43:18,020 --> 00:43:20,300
You need to be part devil
to do this!

581
00:43:20,300 --> 00:43:22,500
Yeah!
THEY BOTH LAUGH

582
00:43:23,980 --> 00:43:25,660
'Joe's got asbestos hands.

583
00:43:25,660 --> 00:43:28,380
'This isn't something he does
for the cameras.

584
00:43:28,380 --> 00:43:31,740
'This is a man who works with
his hands, day in and day out.'

585
00:43:31,740 --> 00:43:33,260
Oh, that's hot!

586
00:43:33,260 --> 00:43:34,820
Ooo-eee!

587
00:43:36,340 --> 00:43:38,900
We need asbestos fingers!
There we are.

588
00:43:38,900 --> 00:43:40,860
Well, that looks great.

589
00:43:40,860 --> 00:43:43,300
All right? That's amazing
how hot that was.

590
00:43:43,300 --> 00:43:47,100
What gives that piece stiffness is,
you see how it is inside of a tree?

591
00:43:47,100 --> 00:43:51,540
It goes inside of a tree,
and it was like this knot here,
and what's inside of there,

592
00:43:51,540 --> 00:43:53,340
there's all this resin in there,

593
00:43:53,340 --> 00:43:56,860
and that resin was just
sitting here when that tree
was all very rotten

594
00:43:56,860 --> 00:43:59,860
but that resin's really hard
so, when that cools off,

595
00:43:59,860 --> 00:44:04,100
that resin will cool off in that
shape and it'll become very
strong. Almost like glass.

596
00:44:04,100 --> 00:44:05,620
Mm. Exactly. It's very strong.

597
00:44:05,620 --> 00:44:08,300
So we take that
and then add a barb on

598
00:44:08,300 --> 00:44:10,380
and put a line on there,

599
00:44:10,380 --> 00:44:14,820
put a piece of octopus on there
and go halibut fishing. OK.

600
00:44:14,820 --> 00:44:16,580
We'll try that. Let's do that.

601
00:44:19,500 --> 00:44:21,260
Leaving the fish hook to harden,

602
00:44:21,260 --> 00:44:23,900
I'm off to explore other resources
this coast provides,

603
00:44:23,900 --> 00:44:28,740
and which the native people
needed for their survival.

604
00:44:30,740 --> 00:44:34,340
No natural resources
were ignored in this region.

605
00:44:44,140 --> 00:44:48,860
There are more than
500 types of seaweed found off
the coast of British Columbia,

606
00:44:48,860 --> 00:44:54,620
and they all had a use, whether for
food, for making floats for fishing,

607
00:44:54,620 --> 00:44:59,060
for medicine and even as
storage containers for fish oil.

608
00:44:59,060 --> 00:45:03,420
The bull kelp is the fastest
growing plant on the planet,

609
00:45:03,420 --> 00:45:05,420
so supplies never ran out.

610
00:45:21,740 --> 00:45:23,020
It had to happen.

611
00:45:23,020 --> 00:45:27,780
This is much more typical
West Coast weather, home from home.

612
00:45:35,420 --> 00:45:36,700
It's when the tide goes out

613
00:45:36,700 --> 00:45:39,140
that you can really get
a sense of this environment.

614
00:45:39,140 --> 00:45:42,060
Take a look at this,
this is bull kelp.

615
00:45:42,060 --> 00:45:44,660
That part of it there is
basically a big float

616
00:45:44,660 --> 00:45:49,660
that carries the stem of this
up to the surface from a hold fast,

617
00:45:49,660 --> 00:45:51,740
and they took this part of it here,

618
00:45:51,740 --> 00:45:53,660
I guess you could call it the stipe,

619
00:45:53,660 --> 00:45:58,420
and they tie these together
to make lines strong enough
to even go and catch whales with.

620
00:45:58,420 --> 00:46:00,420
It really is astonishing.

621
00:46:00,420 --> 00:46:03,860
And like coastal people everywhere,
once the tide went out,

622
00:46:03,860 --> 00:46:07,940
this intertidal zone became
a really important food resource.

623
00:46:07,940 --> 00:46:12,180
All around me, there's food on the
logs here, there's mussels growing.

624
00:46:12,180 --> 00:46:16,380
On the rocks in front of me,
I've got goose barnacles,

625
00:46:16,380 --> 00:46:19,020
they're still a popular food today.

626
00:46:19,020 --> 00:46:24,460
But perhaps one of
the most important of
all the tidal resources,

627
00:46:24,460 --> 00:46:26,740
in terms of food, were clams,

628
00:46:26,740 --> 00:46:30,100
and I'm surrounded
by the shells of clams.

629
00:46:30,100 --> 00:46:33,380
The local people here did something
really quite specialised

630
00:46:33,380 --> 00:46:34,900
when it came to clams,

631
00:46:34,900 --> 00:46:37,380
and that's only been recognised
in recent years.

632
00:46:37,380 --> 00:46:42,420
By moving rocks along the foreshore,
they could dam off areas

633
00:46:42,420 --> 00:46:47,380
and create the perfect habitat
for the clams - clam gardens.

634
00:46:47,380 --> 00:46:50,100
And that's exactly what
I'm standing on here today.

635
00:46:55,500 --> 00:46:57,340
You can see how it works.

636
00:46:57,340 --> 00:46:59,820
Along this edge here
of this little bay,

637
00:46:59,820 --> 00:47:01,540
all these rocks have been piled up,

638
00:47:01,540 --> 00:47:03,700
and that's no accident
that they're there.

639
00:47:03,700 --> 00:47:07,660
And what that does is it
retains the silt on this side,

640
00:47:07,660 --> 00:47:10,540
increasing the habitat
for the clams.

641
00:47:10,540 --> 00:47:14,780
Today, many of these clam
gardens have vanished because
of the action of bears.

642
00:47:14,780 --> 00:47:17,940
Bears come along the coast
and they look for shell fish,

643
00:47:17,940 --> 00:47:21,740
and they turn over the rocks
and eventually they fall apart.

644
00:47:21,740 --> 00:47:24,740
Now, I imagine you'd expect me,
in my normal fashion,

645
00:47:24,740 --> 00:47:27,460
to collect some of these clams
and to cook them.

646
00:47:27,460 --> 00:47:29,820
But I can't because,
at this time of year,

647
00:47:29,820 --> 00:47:34,500
there's something called
a red tide and what that is
is a toxic type of plankton,

648
00:47:34,500 --> 00:47:38,100
it's a dinoflagellate
algae that occurs in these waters

649
00:47:38,100 --> 00:47:42,020
that the clams concentrate in
their bodies as they filter feed.

650
00:47:42,020 --> 00:47:44,860
If I eat clams that have that
inside them,

651
00:47:44,860 --> 00:47:48,220
it's not destroyed by cooking
and it can cause paralysis.

652
00:47:48,220 --> 00:47:54,500
Local people had to be careful of
this, too, and they would watch
nature to give them some clues.

653
00:47:54,500 --> 00:47:57,420
They were canny,
they would watch the crows

654
00:47:57,420 --> 00:48:01,260
and the ravens to see when they
stopped picking on the food here

655
00:48:01,260 --> 00:48:06,100
and, if they'd stopped eating
the shellfish, it was a pretty
good guide to stay off the beach.

656
00:48:06,100 --> 00:48:09,420
There are also accounts of armed
guards being placed on the beach

657
00:48:09,420 --> 00:48:13,780
to prevent people
poisoning themselves by collecting
the clams at this time of year.

658
00:48:17,580 --> 00:48:21,340
I've really been a bit spoiled with
the weather over the last few days,

659
00:48:21,340 --> 00:48:22,540
this is more like it.

660
00:48:22,540 --> 00:48:24,900
This is proper West Coast weather,
so a bit wet,

661
00:48:24,900 --> 00:48:28,020
but it's very moody,
it's very beautiful,

662
00:48:28,020 --> 00:48:30,180
we've got these low mists
over the cedar trees.

663
00:48:30,180 --> 00:48:36,620
It's lovely, and it's easy to wax
lyrical because I'm under the shade
of this hemlock tree and quite dry.

664
00:48:36,620 --> 00:48:41,260
In fact, that tree's old enough
that it may have sheltered people
who gathered clams at this garden,

665
00:48:41,260 --> 00:48:44,540
and the garden is a little bit
eerie because it looks as though

666
00:48:44,540 --> 00:48:47,780
people walked away and left it
just yesterday.

667
00:48:47,780 --> 00:48:50,340
It really is strange.

668
00:48:50,340 --> 00:48:55,940
One of the things that was done
with the clams is that they were
dried for other times of the year

669
00:48:55,940 --> 00:49:01,980
and I've dried a few clams,
a bit smaller than the ones here,
to show you how that was done.

670
00:49:01,980 --> 00:49:05,260
This is one of the ways. You take a
cedar strip and just thread them on,

671
00:49:05,260 --> 00:49:08,700
and you could hang that up,
in a couple of days they're dry.

672
00:49:08,700 --> 00:49:12,620
Hang them up in the houses,
or in the sun, and there you go.

673
00:49:12,620 --> 00:49:15,700
And they were eaten with fish oil,
and that was considered

674
00:49:15,700 --> 00:49:19,540
to be a delicacy, and, well,
I'll have to try one of these.

675
00:49:19,540 --> 00:49:21,260
They're probably a bit chewy now.

676
00:49:27,820 --> 00:49:29,780
Chewy, but really tasty.

677
00:49:29,780 --> 00:49:32,020
I quite like that.

678
00:49:32,020 --> 00:49:35,300
Great thing about that is you can
just have it round your neck

679
00:49:35,300 --> 00:49:36,820
and eat as you go, perfect.

680
00:49:36,820 --> 00:49:38,340
I'll save those for later.

681
00:49:39,980 --> 00:49:43,540
With red tide in the water,
I had to use packet clams,

682
00:49:43,540 --> 00:49:47,300
but, actually, the real,
native clams would be much larger.

683
00:50:03,620 --> 00:50:09,180
One time, this area
was abundant with wild salmon.

684
00:50:09,180 --> 00:50:14,060
But the area was over-fished
after the arrival of Europeans.

685
00:50:14,060 --> 00:50:19,700
Nearly 2,000 fish factories have
come and gone on Vancouver Island.

686
00:50:19,700 --> 00:50:24,620
Today, much of British Columbia's
salmon come from fish farms.

687
00:50:27,100 --> 00:50:29,500
It wasn't just the salmon
that were important.

688
00:50:29,500 --> 00:50:33,580
There was also a very small fish
that was harvested.

689
00:50:33,580 --> 00:50:37,580
The locals call it eulachon,
we know it as smelt.

690
00:50:37,580 --> 00:50:40,140
And these fish were
gathered in their thousands.

691
00:50:40,140 --> 00:50:47,180
They could then be put into
an old canoe and heated with rocks
to extract their oil.

692
00:50:57,300 --> 00:51:00,380
It's a very fishy oil.

693
00:51:00,380 --> 00:51:02,660
Early explorers
really didn't like this,

694
00:51:02,660 --> 00:51:05,580
it was such a strong feature
in the local diet.

695
00:51:05,580 --> 00:51:07,940
But it wasn't just for
domestic consumption,

696
00:51:07,940 --> 00:51:10,580
this oil was incredibly valuable

697
00:51:10,580 --> 00:51:13,620
and was traded
deep into the interior.

698
00:51:13,620 --> 00:51:17,460
One box of oil
was worth four blankets.

699
00:51:17,460 --> 00:51:22,460
To get it there, the local people
established an extensive
network of trails,

700
00:51:22,460 --> 00:51:25,260
which today have largely
fallen into disuse.

701
00:51:25,260 --> 00:51:28,420
But it was those trails that were
some of the earliest footpaths

702
00:51:28,420 --> 00:51:31,340
used by explorers
coming to the West Coast.

703
00:51:32,860 --> 00:51:35,060
With the taste of fish in my mouth,

704
00:51:35,060 --> 00:51:38,740
I think it's time Joe and I
put our fish hook to the test.

705
00:51:38,740 --> 00:51:41,340
BING CROSBY: # Gone fishin'

706
00:51:42,260 --> 00:51:45,540
# By a shady-wady pool... #

707
00:51:45,540 --> 00:51:50,460
So Joe's finished the hook, and
he's put on a barb, here, of bone.

708
00:51:50,460 --> 00:51:52,100
# That's old Cindy Lou
goin' with me

709
00:51:52,100 --> 00:51:54,580
LOUIS ARMSTRONG: # Gone fishin'

710
00:51:54,580 --> 00:51:56,100
# Mm-mm-mm-mm

711
00:51:56,100 --> 00:51:58,020
# Fleas are bitin' at his hide

712
00:51:58,020 --> 00:52:00,060
# Get away from me
Boy, you're bothering me

713
00:52:00,060 --> 00:52:02,620
# Folks won't find us now because

714
00:52:02,620 --> 00:52:04,300
# Mr Satch... #

715
00:52:04,300 --> 00:52:06,580
Well, it doesn't seem to be
our lucky day.

716
00:52:06,580 --> 00:52:10,500
We had a sniff, something nipped
the octopus off our line,

717
00:52:10,500 --> 00:52:12,940
probably the big one that got away.

718
00:52:12,940 --> 00:52:17,900
But I want to cook for Giselle
and Joe to thank them for
sharing so much with me.

719
00:52:17,900 --> 00:52:19,300
There's only one option -

720
00:52:19,300 --> 00:52:22,020
calling in at the local fishmongers
on the way home.

721
00:52:29,060 --> 00:52:34,900
Steaming fish in a sand pit,
lined with hot rocks and cedar,
is a traditional way to cook here.

722
00:52:40,300 --> 00:52:44,540
All that smoke's a product
of the moisture that's in
the wood here on the beach.

723
00:52:44,540 --> 00:52:47,860
Cedar is apt to hold quite a lot
of moisture but, as it heats up,

724
00:52:47,860 --> 00:52:51,540
the heat will drive the moisture
from these logs.

725
00:52:59,540 --> 00:53:01,700
Well, the fire's
burned down nicely.

726
00:53:01,700 --> 00:53:04,260
The walls have caved in
on my pit a little bit.

727
00:53:04,260 --> 00:53:05,860
I thought that would happen,

728
00:53:05,860 --> 00:53:09,100
that's usually the case
when you're making a pit in sand.

729
00:53:09,100 --> 00:53:10,820
Just spread that a little bit.

730
00:53:12,340 --> 00:53:13,860
But that's looking quite good.

731
00:53:13,860 --> 00:53:15,780
'Obviously,
if you're cooking in sand,

732
00:53:15,780 --> 00:53:19,020
'you don't want your food to be
covered in grains,

733
00:53:19,020 --> 00:53:22,740
'so I'm using a traditional way
of keeping it beach-free,

734
00:53:22,740 --> 00:53:25,340
'with the help of
thimbleberry leaves.'

735
00:53:25,340 --> 00:53:32,260
So, I'm going to cut this into
smaller pieces and wrap that
into thimbleberry parcels.

736
00:53:35,660 --> 00:53:39,740
I've collected here
some willow bark

737
00:53:39,740 --> 00:53:42,580
which I can use
to tie these parcels.

738
00:53:42,580 --> 00:53:47,340
It also makes it much easier
to find them afterwards.

739
00:53:58,780 --> 00:54:00,300
Very good heat.

740
00:54:02,140 --> 00:54:06,660
'Skunk cabbage leaves, which Nancy
talked about, were amazingly useful

741
00:54:06,660 --> 00:54:11,860
'to the First Nations, and I'm using
them now to line my ground oven.'

742
00:54:11,860 --> 00:54:13,900
And the next thing

743
00:54:13,900 --> 00:54:17,500
is our little parcels of halibut.

744
00:54:17,500 --> 00:54:22,100
I'm leaving a little gap in the
centre so I can put the stick in.

745
00:54:24,180 --> 00:54:26,060
Add more thimbleberry leaves.

746
00:54:26,060 --> 00:54:30,340
'I'm covering the parcels
with willow branches

747
00:54:30,340 --> 00:54:32,660
'which add a distinct flavour
to the fish.'

748
00:54:32,660 --> 00:54:37,420
And now more...
skunk cabbage leaves.

749
00:54:42,500 --> 00:54:48,300
If you were doing this on
a regular basis, the best thing
to put on the top is a mat.

750
00:54:54,700 --> 00:54:55,940
And what I'm looking for

751
00:54:55,940 --> 00:54:58,660
is to see that there's no steam
escaping from the pit.

752
00:55:00,180 --> 00:55:02,500
Just a little bit coming up
through the central hole,

753
00:55:02,500 --> 00:55:03,900
where it should.

754
00:55:03,900 --> 00:55:05,860
And now, I'm going to
put some water in there.

755
00:55:05,860 --> 00:55:08,700
I'm just gonna put a litre in,
that should be enough

756
00:55:08,700 --> 00:55:10,300
for this job,

757
00:55:10,300 --> 00:55:13,620
and that will go right
to the bottom of the pit.

758
00:55:20,740 --> 00:55:23,660
And I'm going to leave that
for about two hours to cook.

759
00:55:51,940 --> 00:55:55,180
Carefully unwrap
the thimbleberry...

760
00:55:55,180 --> 00:55:58,020
And there's the fish,
beautifully cooked.

761
00:56:02,540 --> 00:56:04,060
It's wonderful,

762
00:56:04,060 --> 00:56:06,500
absolutely delicious.

763
00:56:06,500 --> 00:56:09,220
That is a beautiful fish.

764
00:56:09,220 --> 00:56:15,740
'Who better to share it with
than Giselle, my guide to the
West Coast, and her father, Joe.'

765
00:56:15,740 --> 00:56:18,740
It is kind of perfumy, even. Mmm.

766
00:56:18,740 --> 00:56:20,580
That's a bit of the willow. Mm.
Mm-hm.

767
00:56:23,260 --> 00:56:27,740
What they say in potlatch is
if they put food in front of you,
you got to eat it all. Oh, no!

768
00:56:27,740 --> 00:56:30,380
I've got a very greedy cameraman.
Oh, OK.

769
00:56:32,220 --> 00:56:34,220
'They've shown me,
and shared with me,

770
00:56:34,220 --> 00:56:41,300
'some of the skills those early fur
traders would have encountered when
they first came here 200 years ago.'

771
00:56:46,500 --> 00:56:51,780
This feels a fitting way
to complete my journey of
the West Coast, and of Canada.

772
00:56:53,900 --> 00:56:58,540
I guess I should have known what
a vast and powerful place Canada is

773
00:56:58,540 --> 00:57:03,140
after all I've read
about the explorers I've
featured in this series.

774
00:57:03,140 --> 00:57:04,500
Samuel Hearne,

775
00:57:04,500 --> 00:57:09,660
who was the first to reach
the north coast of Canada by land.

776
00:57:09,660 --> 00:57:13,220
John Rae, who explored
the Arctic North,

777
00:57:13,220 --> 00:57:16,820
and David Thompson, who mapped
a third of this immense land.

778
00:57:18,420 --> 00:57:21,180
But, of course, it's only
when you get on the ground

779
00:57:21,180 --> 00:57:23,740
and you measure your own stride
to the country

780
00:57:23,740 --> 00:57:27,700
that you fully can gauge
these men's achievements.

781
00:57:29,340 --> 00:57:33,140
I'm going home, obviously, with a
much greater appreciation for them,

782
00:57:33,140 --> 00:57:35,180
not just because of
the journeys they made,

783
00:57:35,180 --> 00:57:37,580
or even the courage
that they had to summon,

784
00:57:37,580 --> 00:57:42,020
but mostly because of
the respect that they demonstrated.

785
00:57:42,020 --> 00:57:45,500
Respect for themselves,
respect for the peoples
they encountered,

786
00:57:45,500 --> 00:57:49,300
and their knowledge and skills
of living from this country.

787
00:57:49,300 --> 00:57:53,740
Without that respect,
they would never have succeeded.

788
00:57:53,740 --> 00:57:59,140
I find it interesting modern Canada
is born out of several cultures.

789
00:57:59,140 --> 00:58:02,180
You have the First Nations,
who were here to begin with.

790
00:58:02,180 --> 00:58:06,100
You have the British and the French,
who came in search of furs.

791
00:58:06,100 --> 00:58:09,700
And out of that strange mixing pot,
and not without some pain,

792
00:58:09,700 --> 00:58:14,860
has come modern Canada, a country
that I'll always come back to,

793
00:58:14,860 --> 00:58:17,060
not just because
it's so beautiful here,

794
00:58:17,060 --> 00:58:20,860
but because the people here have
respect and tolerance
for each other,

795
00:58:20,860 --> 00:58:23,980
and also for the natural world.

796
00:58:23,980 --> 00:58:27,980
This is a place
where people really cherish nature.