Bill Reid Gallery trip

The trip to the museum that displays Bill Reid art was short, but educational.  I can’t say that I am into arts, however, after visiting this gallery I admire Bill Reid.  He is a person half white half Haida, and used to be ashamed of this fact.  Yet, he was willing to get over this hardship, change his heritage to a fine art that speaks to millions and fill them with wonder and respect. When you go to the gallery, look to the displayed arts, and listen to the explanation of what they represent, you can’t stay neutral or indifferent.  With time, you find yourself curious and want to learn more about how they have lived and how they have changed everything they touch to a wonderful art.  I was thinking about this: who would really care about a tree in a bush? those people, regardless of the simplicity of their living, they were paying attention to everything around them. They have transformed household items, trees, and nature in general to a spectacular art. I think the fascinating part of their art is that their artistic skills weren’t plain but a transmission of their legacy and culture. It was their simple, and yet effective way to keep their tradition alive for the years to come.

This trip helped me also to see how easily we structure stereotype about others, or how little we really care to know about each other. I remember when I first knew about the aboriginal and saw their pictures, the way they look like and the way they lived I just thought they are savage people with a rudimentary life. 

However, after this visit I think the indigenous are the ones who made the history of British Columbia. Their amazing crafts and rich heritage is undeniable reality; it is what they made and left is distinguishing the Northwest Coast region and set it apart. So I feel in spite of the neglecting, suffering, and disrespecting to their humanity, they have succeeded to leave great achievement that will remain a significant witness of their civilization. And just as Bill Reid described in his documentary film “Totem”, “human beings must die anyway” and in the Haida case, they might be destroyed as tribal system or communities but their heritage will stay behind marking their existence forever.