Song Of The Forest

The province of British Columbia , on Canada’s western coast , is home to First Nations communities whose history is deeply intertwined with the mountains , woods, and waters . On a tour from Vancouver to Haida Gwaii , CRAIG TAYLOR encounters poetry and pride— and learns to see his homeland with fresh eyes.

Growing up on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, I found it easy to mock visitors from abroad. “This place,” they’d whisper. “I can go swimming in the morning, skiing in the afternoon, then kayak home for dinner.” The views, the landscape, the wildlife—that was the refrain. Even in the cities, the scenery dominates. On any clear afternoon, look up from the streets of downtown Vancouver and you’ll see the snow-capped North Shore mountains glowing pink, an ostentatious show of natural beauty so commonplace that most residents barely take notice.

There were times when visitors’ compliments sounded like admiration for a two-dimensional backdrop. But BC is a complex place, especially when it comes to its aboriginal communities. With a population of just over 4.5 million, the province is home to around 230,000 aboriginal people from 203 different First Nations, who speak 34 languages and 60 dialects. Today, these groups live a life of ostensible equality, but centuries of oppression—referred to in official circles as 'alien modes of governance'—began a cycle of social devastation that hasn’t yet been fully resolved. In many aboriginal communities, poverty, homelessness, and substance abuse still loom large.

Indeed, residents of BC live in a province of uneasy contrasts. My village on the island was a haven of middle-class comfort, bordered by the poverty of a First Nations reserve. As a child, I walked down the stony beach and saw wealth and privilege give way to sudden hardship. This, I was told once, was my first experience of apartheid.