32 -— Wednesday, May 5, 1993 ~ North Shore News GATUWAS DIARY PT. 4 In touch with t On June 1, members cf the Squamish Nation Sea Going Society will embark on a 340-mile (563 km) canoe voyage to the village of Waglisla (Bella Bella) to take part in the Qatuwas Festival (people gathering together in one place). Indigenous groups from the Pacific Rim will congregate for a week-long conference and celebration. The North Shore News has been invited to record the progress of the Squamish paddlers as they prepare mentally and spiritually for this journey. This is the fourth instalment of the Qatuwas Diary. IN OUR travels through the various planes of our existence, according to Haida legend, we are watched ever by the Raven. When we are about to cross the thresh- olds in our life, when our paths take us into other realms, other worlds, he will cozae as a messen- ger and ask us a question. T. Richard Baker retells that legend in the basement of his home, pausing briefly from the job of carving the paddle that will carry him to Waglisla. The air is redolent with the smell of yellow cedar. Baker’s hands rest lightly on the carving tools he has crafted himself. He alters the pitch of his voice, mimicking the Raven’s call. In the language of his Haida ancestors he calls out:.‘‘Who are you?”’ “The proper answer is ‘Dii lag kuwin Haada,' ’’ Baker says. ‘* ‘I am a good human.’ Then the Raven will recognize your call and come ‘oO guide you on your journey.’’ . . : Baker, who is known in the Haida language of his grand- mother as Keith Guu Laans, the man with the golden voice, takes up his tools again and makes -sev- eral long, even strokes on the blade of his paddle. Perhaps he is reflecting on the journey he and other members of the Squamish Nation Sea Going Society ‘are about to undertake. ; Keith Guu Laans is the spiritual guide for the paddlers, although he is quick to dismiss such titles. “Pm ‘just another member of the crew.’’ he says. ‘“‘Everyone is equal in this circle.’’ -Nevertheless, he acknowledges that the spiritual factor is a major facet of the voyage. Ultimately, it is what may ensure its success. of the paddle. You go beyond the things .that you can understand. You become so tired, so hungry. You. need something te get. you through.” Baker focuses the paddlers’ vi- sion, guiding. them through the Strengthening rituals of the sweatlodge, the cold-water baths, the fullemoon vision quests to places of power, such as a mineral bath on Washington. With these methods, he hepes to create.a balance in their spirits in much the same way as the pad- dlers’ physical size is shifted to maintain a balance in the canoc. This spiritual nature of Baker is the product of the’ land that nur- him, Haida Gwaii. manner and approach’ to fife reflect the mysticism’ of those shrouded islands. He was born on their northern tip, in a village called Xaadlaa Gawaa. He is of the raven clan of Yahguiaanas, the middle town people. His grandmother — is Brown, granddaughter world-renowned Haida Charles Edenshaw. “From her, | learned my histo- ry,’’ Baker says. Bur his real. mentor is Cecil Brown Sr., Baker's grandfather. “He is gone to the spirit world,’’ Baker says, refusing to speak of him in the past tense. “He is stifl here, though, in a “Mt Baker in tured His Beatrice of the artist, a “Spirituality is the biggest part 1 NATIVE AFFAIRS by Paul Hughes different form. From him I learn- ed to love, to sense, to feel.’’ His Squamish heritage, a side of his genealogy which Baker discovered accidentally, emerges from his father, Bill Baker. Al- though the Haida influence runs deepest in his soul, he makes it clear that the Qatuwas voyage is being made “‘to honor my father’s people.” All of these influences are mir- rored in the man. This journey is as much a quest for symmetry in his own life as it is to help others attain that goal. The seeking of balanced spirit is apparent in all areas of Baker’s complex personality in his work as a family counsellor, in his role as husband and father, and, perhaps especially, in his carvings : Sey Ped and artwork, The strength of the stamesh, the warrior, is there in the bold strokes of his paintings, in the flight of an eagle, in the deep, harsh cuts of his wooden masks. But hidden, sometinies almost buried in each work, is the form and spirit of woman, that sought-after feminine side present in all of us. For Baker it is a particular struggle, nurturing strength with softness, the warrior’s howl with the need for tears. It is a search that «nay have no end, but as he makes his paddle strokes to the village of Waglisia, and to his own inner destination, Baker knows one thing clearly. The Raven will be watching. If you are interested in helping the Squamish Nation Sea Going Society raise money for their trip, the society can be reached by mail at 443 West 3rd St., North Van- couver, B.C. V7M 1G9. Address fax calls to 980-3861. Term Deposits rate higher than and the Bank of B.C." But if « better. As part of our exclusive protected with up to $100,000 of deposit insurance: THE SQUAMISH Nation Sea Golng Society prepa summer journey north with a workout in Burrard intet. you're 55 or older, it gets even Gold Club service, we'll give you a 144% above our top rates on Monthly Income Terms. And remember, every VanCity account is Drop by or call us for all the details. WERE VANCITY 87 7: 7 0 O 0 5 Year Monthly Income Term Ceposit rate for members aged 55+. May change without notice. ** Excludes promotional offers. *** Ceposits are insured up to $100,000 per ‘separate deposit” (as defined by regulation), per credit union through the Credit Union Deposit Insurance Corporation of B.C. (CUDIC), re for their.