British Columbia, Canada

Lotus Land

They traveled west through the Rocky Mountains and arrived at an island that lay like a jewel in the Pacific Ocean, and eventually discovered the lotus plant. It seemed good to eat, so they ate. But soon they noticed that they did not want to leave. They were content as cows in a field and forgot all about their homes. All they wanted to do was eat of the fruit, day after day forever more. Long after their old folk had passed away they were there, munching. Oblivious of everything but the lotus, which they loved. Some tasted it and spit it out just in time, before they got hooked on it. But there were some who just dreamed of one day going home.

The Beauty of This "Lotus" Land

There are a lot more truly great things to say about Canada and its people and nature, than about its politicians. Of course because here, like in most places, we tolerate these often less than straightforward human types, like we do everyone else. Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands are beautiful beyond description. The author has cruised the coast's mist shrouded islands and inlets, watched the Killer Whales play, the pounding of the waves against the rugged cliffs and walked hundreds of kilometers of rocky and sand beaches. Most people don't even know they exist, thankfully. Such is the beauty and remoteness of these secret places. The hundreds of islands nestled between Vancouver Island and the mountainous mainland create a truely supernatural environment to live and play in for those who like water. There is nothing like an island, a totally calm ocean around it, the slight movement of the tide, stillness, quietness, just the occasional cry of a distant gull or the explosion of air from a Killer Whale or seal's nostrils to bring you back. The glide-by of a majestic Bald Eagle. The pine studded shoreline zig-zagging along amongst the intertidal goose-necked barnacles, crabs, tidal pools and kelp beds. It is a marine biologists dream, and one reason I decided to become a biologist/naturalist. (but not working in the field) An hour or two by boat and you are at Molly's Reach, which is on the mainland but accessible only by boat, where the TV serial "Beachcombers" was filmed, and where this writer worked for a few months. There aren't too many places on earth that can compare with it. Nothing wrong with the land - Antti could have chosen many worse places on earth. But I hate to say it, there is trouble in paradise.

The Queen Charlotte Islands! Yes! The beauty of these islands, three hundred kilometers north of Vancouver Island, inhabited by the famous Haida people, cannot be imagined under ordinary state of mind. Thanks to my summer work while a biology student at UVic, I spent a whole summer there. Into Sandspit with turboprop and out from Masset with a Grumman Goose to Sandspit, back to Vancouver (Vancourver Airport, #4 in the world) and Victoria by turboprop.

Map plus links to BC

The Haida People

The Haida are a highly developed Westcoast native people, a fact which is evident in their art best exemplified by Bill Reid's world famous carvings. Queen Charlotte City and Skidegate are in a natural harbour located in the hub of the Charlottes, and Masset is at the north end where there are hundreds of miles of wide sandy beaches to rival any in the world. The sea, dunes and an ancient cedar rain forest make the Charlottes just fantastic. The friendliness of Skidegate Haidas will be always remembered. Memories of Skidegate and Masset! The Haida

Sointula: The Finnish Utopia in the Pacific

Sointula, (place of harmony) which is located on Malcolm Island, was established 1901 by Finnish socialists who hoped to create a utopia, but discovered in one year what it took the Russians 70 years - it doesn't work without the right kind of solid governing principles. They were dreamers. Communes work with, for example, strict religious groups who have a code of behavior.

This group was going to be the Kalevan Kansa, which worshipped nature, with some modern socialist ideas thrown in. But not everyone wanted to behave. Some of these socialists thought that this new freedom meant they could do whatever they wished, including helping themselves to the women. Also, the leadership, being socialist, had no idea of how to run a buisness. They lost their shirt on a bridge building job when their bid was too low. They ended up donating their labor and a lot of trees off the island toward that ill-fated project. They never recovered from that and the colony went bankrupt. The government took back the tree license after which the commune had to start all over again, debt free but with nothing. The commune broke apart, many left with the Ingerian-Finnish leader - feminist, socialist, Matti Kurikka. Matti is from a town called Tuutari, about 20 km southwest of St. Petersburg Russia, where according to the Petroskoi Karelian band Myllarit, they fried, divided and ate, a large mother cat. You can even listen to the song clip called Eta Pravda. By the way, I have the whole album and it is good.

After the breakup of the commune, Sointula prospered in fishing and logging. The Finns of Sointula worked hard and their innovations in Fishing changed gillnet fishing forever.

In 1931 Laurie Jarelainen from Sointula created the first powered drum. This innovation had a dramatic effect on gillnetting. Because power drums could set and draw the gillnets into the boat faster, fishermen were able to fish in areas where water and weather conditions had previously prevented them from fishing. In addition, both nets and boats became larger due to this change in the drum. Moreover, as a result of powered drums the gillnetters could be converted, if needed, into small scale seining boats. Later, the more efficient gillnetters began replacing the older purse-seiners.

When I was 15 years old I went to Sointula with my father who at that time was a commercial gillnet fisherman. That year a labor dispute shut down the fishing industry on the west coast. I ended up staying in an indian village at Alert Bay, an island next to Malcolm Island. Years later when I returned, someone on the ferry said about the Finnish people "now those are genuine people." Everyone is a genuine person, but I know what he meant. The Finns just have a closer contact with nature than average, and are usually very honest and hard-working. They may appear to outsiders as more "genuine" in the sense that even though they love nice things, clothes etc. their old Finnish nature still shows through, one which has not changed for thousands of years. Finns do feel that they are the same, yet different, special in some way, I mean without being racist about it. They have a strong sense of identity developed as a result of living between two cultures: the Russians and the Swedes.

Travel to Sointula

If you are planning a trip to Sointula, you can find some maps and information here: Sointula - Island Utopia

Stalin, the Pie-eyed Piper of Russia

The utopia they came after did not materialize. Some did not give up the dream of a utopia though, and responded to Stalin's call in the 1930's. Karelia fever was on. Many Canadian and American Finns went to East Karelia in the Soviet Union, where they found poverty, not utopia. Their worldly belongings were taken away and they found that Karelia was like arriving at the "Hotel California" - you could check in, but you could never leave.

Robbed, beaten and shot by Stalin

They were stripped of their identification, and robbed, then they became prisoners of Stalin and most were shot. When a recently arrived carpenter complained that his tools had been stolen, the communist authorities threatened to throw him in prison for not taking care of his things. When they arrived in St. Petersburg Russia, their passports and things are confiscated. The authorities promised that the documents would follow. This was a lie as usual - the foundation of their system. They ended up with nothing in this worker's paradise. (Socialism is a satanic lie, a fantasy. Anyone trying to create such a utopian state is doomed to failure. But they keep on trying, doing the same thing over and over again, with the same result.)

One cunning Finn saved his own neck because he lied about losing his passport and hid it. He was one of the few who made it out of Russia. They had made the biggest mistake in their lives, which most forfitted. They were never heard from again. It is confirmed now almost daily, that most were shot in Stalin's purges in the 30's.

The Communist ideal has been proven to be a lie, so why people still insist on going after it, is beyond me. Soviet Communists tried to keep the truth from the outside world so that an inferior system could spread. To allow anyone to leave Soviet Russia was forbidden.

Politics and politicians ruin the whole world, regardless of banner: religion, communism, or anything else, and will continue to do so until humans take the next step in their social development - rejecting violence and demanding and recognizing only truth, which sets us free. By going Communist, the people of Russia put themselves into an endless house of horrors, a never ending retrograde limbo of poverty and slavery to the state. Why does the human mind reject the evidence of the eyes and ears - the cries of hundreds of millions of people slaughtered in the name of a totally and completely inferior, corrupt system? To work for the government is bad enough, but for a whole nation to do so is terrible. Dictatorship of the Proletariat, ha! What a stupid idea. Governments are all corrupt, and large governments are the most corrupt. Governments are the servants of people, not their masters. When a communist government takes over, they are the masters, though they fool some people into thinking they are the government of the people.

When Russia attacked Finland in 1939, they installed a Communist government in Terijoki, which hardly had any support in Finland whatsoever. When staying in power is more important than the welfare of the people, you have tyranny. Communist governments do not serve the people, the people serve the Communist government in fear.

Sointula was a tightly knit village with their community hall as the center where people met regularly. They were relatively happy as individuals, independent yet helping each other. This is how people should be. We don't need to institutionalize it. The community prospered in fishing especially, and the Finns became known for their talents in this field. There was competition for the best boat, and the Finns had some impressive boats. Many Finns moved out but returned in the spring to fish, using the village as base. My father was one of these fishermen in the seventies.

The sense of community was reduced when TV, cars and telephones came to town and the hall began to sit empty. The media informed the world, and that was the beginning of the end of one ideal lifestyle on the west coast of Canada.

Here is a photo of Matti Hilminen and his wife, taken by S. Palsi in 1926. Quite a picture to send home to Finland. The caption says that the trees in Canada make people look like little squirrels. Most of the trees in Finland you can get your arms around without any problem.

When the island was finally discovered by the rest of the world in the 1960's, long-haired Americans from the United States and others began moving in, and the Finns began moving out. Then there were only the Finns who stayed and the hippies who worked hard to build a life. The Finns understood hard work,and soon these immigrants were accepted amongst the community, but it would never be the same. The climate is mild, but in the winter it rains alot. Sointula is located off the north-east coast and Sooke is on the south-west coast of Vancouver Island.

Sointula.

The Interior of BC

If you love mountains, and skiing, you'll love the Canadian Rockies. One little village I recently visited was Fernie B.C., in Southeast British Columbia. This place is in the boom phase. One visit to the ski hill will tell you that! There is construction everywhere. Partly-built condominiums, and cottages everywhere. And the majestic mountains looming above, with their powder. All this just minutes from downtown Fernie. It is truly awesome. This village is on Highway 3, which many never see going on Highway 1, which goes through Banf. Sometimes it seems the Australians and New Zealanders have discovered it before the rest of the Canadians. A must-see for skiing enthusiasts, mountain bikers and hikers..

Whistler Mountain: 2010 Olympics Bid

Oh yes, then we have this other skiing center at Whistler. British Columbians are split over whether to support the Olympics. It is a very nice skiing center, with hotels, village, the works. I hope the world comes for a visit in 2010. Whistler Mountain.

Hiking: try making your own dried fruits and vegetables. (forget the meat, go vegan)

So you want to come to Canada? I have to caution you in advance. When you land you may think you have landed in Bombay, Hong Kong or Singapore. You have not landed in these places by mistake, you are in Canada.

Going With The Wind

One beautiful summer day, I fell asleep while enjoying the good life in Canada. My sleep was restless, being disturbed by powerful east winds. I dreamed that life in Canada was changing rapidly.

I dreamed that ghettos filled with strange new people were taking over the country. I turned the radio on and I heard strange languages and music. With them came new value systems, customs and ideas. They were politically active and were changing the system to suit themselves. I tossed and turned. Something was not right. This was not the country my father came to. With the revolution in newcomers came reductions in hospital care and other services. For some reason, the services we traditionally relied on started to become more scarce. Something was not right, the standard of living began to decline. The politicians could or would do nothing. Canada had become a foreign place. What a prophetic dream. When I awoke, I understood what the dream meant - it spelled the gradual disappearance of the world we knew.

Books on British Columbia

The Great Bear Rainforest :

Canada's Forgotten Coast

by Ian McAllister, Karen McAllister, Cameron Young

Hardcover (September 1998) Sierra Club Books;

ISBN: 1578050111 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.71 x 10.32 x 11.26

Amazon.com Sales Rank: 77,503

Avg. Customer Review: Number of Reviews: 3

The Milepost : Trip Planner for Alaska, Yukon Territory, British Columbia, Alberta & Northwest Territories Spring '99-Spring '00 (51st Ed)

by Kris Graef Paperback - 768 pages 51st edition (March 1999) Vernon Pubns;

ISBN: 1892154005 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.93 x 10.77 x 8.40

Amazon.com Sales Rank: 4,261 Popular in: GCI (#19)

Avg. Customer Review: Number of Reviews: 2

Haida Gwaii : Journeys Through the Queen Charlotte Islands

by Ian Gill, David Nunuk (Photographer)

Availability: This title usually ships within 2-3 days.

Paperback - 160 pages (September 1997) Grasshopper Books Pub;

ISBN: 1551920689

Raincoast Chronicles Eleven Up by Howard White (Editor) - Historical book about the British Columbia coast.

Backroads of Southern Interior British Columbia: From the Rockies to the Coquihalla, Through the Kootenays and the Okanagan by Joan Donaldson

Books illustrated by Bill Reid or about him and his art works include:

The Raven Steals the Light by Bill Reid and Robert Bringhurst which contains ten Haida stories - some of the most significant Haida myths - told and illustrated by Bill Reid.

Raven's Cry by Christie Harris - it is a novel about the coming together of the Haida and European cultures and a tribute to a vanished way of life. Illustrations by Bill Reid.

The Black Canoe: Bill Reid and the Spirit of Gwaii by Robert Bringhurst describes the making of a monumental sculpture by Bill Reid for the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

The Spirit of Haida Gwaii : Bill Reid's Masterpiece by Ulli Steltzer A 64 page paperback by the photographer of The Black Canoe.

Bill Reid (Revised Edition) by Doris Shadbolt has recently been published by The University of Washington Press.

Bill Reid : Beyond the Essential Form (Museum Note, No 19) by Karen Duffek

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International Movie Database

Selection of Finnish History and Literature

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Links

Black Canoe Sculpture: The Spirit of Haida Gwaii

Postage stamp of The Spirit of Haida Gwaii

Profiles concerning Bill Reid and his work:

Canada Museum of Civilization

Royal British Columbia Museum

Laminated red cedar screen

The Douglas Reynolds Gallery

Native American Authors Project: Bill Reid

Native Online

National Film Board of Canada Video

History of Northern Vancouver Island

Sointula and North Vancouver Island

Sointula: island utopia - book

Salmon Fishing in B.C.

Back to Uralic

Sooke B.C.