NISGAA of the NASS - BEATLER in BCs North, 2006 Anhluutukwsim Laxmihl Angwingaasanskwhl Nisgaa (Nisgaa Memorial Lava Bed Park) Full Story: ow.ly/GdOO1 In 2006 I lived in northern Kitimat, BC. My dog, Murphy and I craved adventure so we drove up to explore the unique lava beds in the raw wilderness of Nisgaa territory roughly an hour north of Terrace, BC. goo.gl/maps/saR0 Its hard to imagine it happening, but around the year 1750 -- decades before Europeans came sailing up this way - a volcano erupted here spewing lava and killing over 2,000 Nisgaa people, destroying everything in its path and sparking devastating forest fires. The vast lava beds remain today as a memorial to the lives lost. Nisgaa Memorial Lava Bed Park is a popular destination with a 16-site campground and a Visitors Centre displaying Nisgaa artifacts throughout July and August. There are guided tours of the lava beds, sport fishing, backcountry excursions, local accommodations, and majestic ptsaan (totem poles). It is the first park in BC jointly managed between BC Parks and the Nisgaa Tribal Council. It boasts waterfalls, pools, cinder cones, tree moulds, lava tubes, spatter cones, a lava-dammed lake, caves and other features created by lava flows. env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/nisgaa/ BC Parks website says this park offers a chance to explore many unique and interesting features of a volcanic landscape and to learn about the culture and legends of the Nisgaa people. This was so very true for us that day after we picked up Kenny Robinson, a Nisgaa man hitchhiking home from Terrace. In exchange for a ride, he offered a guided tour of the lava beds and some Nisgaa villages along the way, including the home of a 400-foot suspension bridge: Gitwinksihlkw (Place of the Lizards) where according to oral tradition, large lizards lived there before the eruption. visitterrace/activities/arts-culture/first-nations/the-nisgaa/ I also received a warm welcome in the breathtaking village of Gingolx with spectacular views of the ocean and soaring eagles. The locals invited me into their long house to draw door prizes for a gathering and showed me how to prepare smoked salmon. Using the clunky old cassette-loaded camcorder I had back then, I filmed the days events, including a terrifying encounter with an aggressive mother grizzly and cubs.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 18:06:42 +0000
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