Quigley Creek to Klemtu. August 4.
11 August 2010
Photo: Inside Klemtu's Big House
We motor through the fearsome Myers Narrows, which during neap tides are so tame we have only half a knot of current against us at max ebb. We stop at Klemtu where we anchor out and take the dinghy ashore. We go into the band store and are pleasantly surprised to find fresh apples, lettuce and other produce. Even strawberries looking just a bit old. On our previous trips here all we found were a few moldy apples.
We take a tour of Klemtu's Big House. Our guide tells us the Big House has inspired a renewal of their culture and the House is used regularly for potlatches. Klemtu is one of most prosperous Native villages on the coast. About eighty percent of the adults are employed, mostly at the fish farm and fish processing plant.
There's more to Klemtu than can be told in a brief blog. For more about this Native village wait for my new book coming in October: Glaciers, Bears and Totems (Harbour Publishing).