Daily 2021/2022
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All that remains
A pit in the ground and two giant western red cedar beams are all that remains of the ~30 Haida longhouses at the village of K'uuna Llnagaay (Skedans). A panoramic photo of Skedans by the early photographer George Dawson in 1878 shows large numbers of frontal poles (large totem poles containing the round front entry of longhouses), mortuary poles and memorial poles, and they are also featured in several pieces of art from ~1912 by the famous Canadian artist, Emily Carr.
The remains of more than 50 pieces of monumental sculpture can be seen here and, even though they are carved from rot-resistant cedar, they last only about a hundred years before they begin to disintegrate. The disintegration is recognized by the Haida culture as a natural part of a pole’s life cycle.
house beamslonghouse remainsHaidaWestern red cedar beamspit houseforestdisintegrationgrassK'uuna LlnagaaySkedansLouise IslandHaida GwaiiGwaii HaanasQueen Charlotte IslandsBritish Columbia
Terry Allen
on July 9, 2021Many thanks everyone for your nice comments!
Howard's Photography
on July 9, 2021Great capture of the remains, interesting info!
jimholmquist
on July 9, 2021Beautiful shot and interesting history!
fotoeffects
on July 9, 2021It is a beautiful landscape and such interesting info about the memorial poles!
Greg&Rose Photography
on July 8, 2021Ditto to Wayne
Wayne Wendel
on July 8, 2021Superb image and thanks for the description of what we're looking at.
Kevin Poynor
on July 8, 2021Interesting history and nice shot.
Franks-Focus
on July 8, 2021Nice shot of this interesting site with some interesting history to accompany the image.
Bill J Boyd Photography
on July 8, 2021Excellent shot, Terry
Lgood
on July 8, 2021It must have been fun to stand there and imagine what the place looked like in the early days. Love this image Terry!