Introduction

Potlatch Dancer in Regalia

BC Provincial Archives (BCPA)

The Kwakwaka'wakw of Alert Bay, BC, Canada, have many traditions, but most important is the potlatch. Through potlatching, history is passed by story-telling, dancing, feasting, and gift-giving. Government officials misunderstood the customs, and their hopes for Indian civilization conflicted with ancient practices among the natives. Therefore, the custom was banned. However, potlatching continued in spite of the law until several people were arrested. A compromise was offered: go to prison or surrender all potlatching regalia. Masks and ceremonial items were seized, and eventually became scattered around the world. Years later, when the ban was dropped, the Kwakwaka'wakw struggled to retrieve the stolen faces of their forgotten past.

The U'Mista Cultural Center was created to house the returned artifacts. The National Museum of Man in Ottawa proposed this compromise as an alternative to having the regalia returned to the owners and possibly lost over time. The Center continues to recover pieces, and today, as director Andrea Sanborn states in a video interview, "The most important role of the U'Mista Cultural Center in our community is to be the information and resource center representing our history and our culture for our people, the Kwakwaka'wakw."