Namgis First Nation Big House
A few days on North Vancouver Island making portraits of the team repainting the Namgis First Nation Big House. A potent time of long conversations, coastal walks, and shared stories.
The Namgis First Nation Big House stands on Alert Bay, off the north end of Vancouver Island. Last week I spent a few days there making portraits of the crew repainting its face: honest work, coastal light, and conversations that stayed with me long after.
I spentsome time last week up on North Vancouver Island, on Alert Bay, collaborating with folks from the Namgis First Nation on a series of portraits of the team repainting the face of the Namgis First Nation Big House. It was a potent few days, the kind where the work and the conversations matter more than any schedule, and where I came away carrying far more than the photographs I made.
A few days on Alert Bay
There is a particular light up there, off the water and through the cedar, that asks you to slow down and pay attention. I walked the island in the quiet hours, camera in hand, letting the place set the pace. The salt in the air, the worn paint on the boats, the long views across the strait, it is the sort of coast that rewards patience, and I tried to meet it with some. You can see more of how I work in this slow, tactile way over on the photography pages.
Portraits of the Namgis First Nation Big House crew
The heart of the visit was making portraits of the team restoring the face of the Alert Bay Big House. Jonathan Henderson is leading the repainting project, and I want to name his crew here too, Allan Davidson Jr. and Jeff Salmon, for the care and steadiness they bring to the work. Watching them move across the front of the house, matching form and colour by hand, felt like watching a craft passed carefully from one set of hands to the next. It is honest, deliberate work, and it deserves to be seen as such. If you would like to see more of this kind of portrait photography, there is a growing body of it in the studio's work.
What is the 'Namgis Big House in Alert Bay?
I am grateful I got to spend a bit more time with Jonathan during my visit, sitting and sharing stories. We talked about life on the north island, about healing and the long shape a life takes, and about much more besides. Those conversations gave the portraits their weight; you cannot fake that kind of trust, and I do not take it lightly when it is offered. It is the reason I keep making pictures the way I do, as heirlooms rather than snapshots. This visit sits alongside other coastal work I have been drawn to, like the Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw Nation Big House community portraits.
Craft, place, and patience at the Alert Bay Big House
For anyone curious about Alert Bay itself, Namgis First Nation and the culture the Big House holds, the U'mista Cultural Society is a worthy place to learn more. My thanks to the Namgis First Nation, to Jonathan, Allan, and Jeff, and to everyone who made room for me and my camera this past weekend.
Where is the 'Namgis First Nation Big House located? +
The 'Namgis First Nation Big House stands on Alert Bay, on Cormorant Island, off the north end of Vancouver Island in British Columbia.
Who is leading the repainting of the Alert Bay Big House? +
Jonathan Henderson is leading the repainting of the Big House's face, working alongside his crew, Allan Davidson Jr. and Jeff Salmon, who match form and colour by hand.
Where can I learn more about Alert Bay and 'Namgis culture? +
The U'mista Cultural Society is a worthy place to learn more about Alert Bay, the 'Namgis First Nation, and the culture the Big House holds.
What was the photography visit to the Big House about? +
The visit was a collaboration with the 'Namgis First Nation to make a series of portraits of the team restoring the face of the Big House, made slowly and with care as heirloom images rather than snapshots.
