Two traditional artists from different cultures came together to create a remarkable project that tells the story of the Wolf Clan at Yuquot on Nootka Island, B.C. - a place of first contact with Europeans and Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations.
Over the span of seven years, master carver Sanford Williams (Ahtsik-sta Qwayachiik) of Mowachaht First Nation and large format film photographer Ron Smid from Orillia, Ontario worked on a bentwood box pinhole camera.
The finished bentwood box and a selection of black and white prints were displayed for the first time from Sept. 15 to 21 at Black Rock Resort in an exhibit titled 'Spirit of Yuquot' as part of Pacific Rim Arts Society's (PRAS) Cultural Heritage Festival.
"It took me about three tries of steaming the box to fit the exact size of the film. Eventually I got it to the right size," said Williams over the phone from his studio in Hope, B.C.
"The whole box itself was a big challenge. I've never done a camera before. Ron was guiding me along to line things up so he would be able to use it correctly," he shared.
"It was obviously windy," said Smid. "We had to pick up pieces of driftwood to help stabilize the camera. There wasn't one blurry photo and I took 14 photos in one week. Some exposures are up to an hour, so you have to be still for an hour."
Yuquot translates to "where the wind blows in all directions" in Nuu-chah-nulth language. There are four faces on the front of Williams' cedar bentwood box to represent the winds and a large blue face in the centre to represent his family.
"It's me and my brother because we are the last family to live in Yuquot after my dad died. The flapper represents me because I only go home once a year to carve. That's me going back home once a year," he said.
On the sides of the bentwood box, Williams carved two ships to represent European ships; one is Captain Cook and the other are Spaniards. The top of the box expresses the Yuquot people living on Bajo Point before they found Yuquot and on the back, there are two wolf sticks that symbolize his family who came from the Wolf Clan.
His late dad Ray Williams' traditional name was Ghoo-Noom-Tuk-Tomlth, which means "spirit of the wolf". Ray spent his life protecting his ancestral home by taking on the role of guardian of Yuquot.
When the Government of Canada began relocating members of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation from Yuquot to a reserve on the shore of Muchalaht Inlet, south of Gold River in 1967, Ray watched friends and family close up their homes and move to the reserve. But Ray's family never left, eventually becoming the last to reside in the village where archaeological excavations have uncovered evidence showing 4,300 years of human habitation.
Ray's son Darrell took over the Yuquot property after Ray's passing on Oct. 31, 2022.
When Williams thinks of the spirit of Yuquot, his dad is top of mind.
"Just hearing my dad. The way he talked to me all the time. Being back home, just always listening to my dad all the time. I can hear his voice in the background, praising me. He's the one that kept me going all these years," said Williams.
Former executive director of PRAS Jacqueline Chamberland recalls travelling to Yuquot in 2018 with PRAS board members Vi Mundy of Ucluelet First Nation and Mark Penney to meet Ray and discuss telling the story of Yuquot.
"Vi was able to talk in Nuu-chah-nulth with him. They were able to understand each other," Chamberland recalled. "If Vi was here today she would be super impressed with this."
Williams received a $17,000 commission to create the bentwood box with funding from the BC Arts Council, the Hamber Foundation and the Wenjack/Downie Foundation while Smid received compensation for his travel expenses.
Between the COVID-19 pandemic and the trauma of losing both his parents, Chamberland says the two-year project was stretched into seven years.
"It brings you back," said Chamberland of the Spirit of Yuquot project. "To tell the story that way is very touching. There is nothing digital in there. Everything is very natural."
Smid describes the art of large format photography as a spiritual practice.
"You don't know what you are going to get with a pinhole. You have to use your intuition," said Smid. "You have to tap into something deeper than what you would normally use by using another camera. You have to feel and be aware of the landscape and see what it's communication to you on a deeper level."
He spent three days in the dark room processing 14 sheets of film; five or six turned out well, he says.
"It was like the spirit was behind us and made it happen," said Smid.
There is a limited number of Spirit of Yuquot black and white prints for sale, starting at $1,500 for a framed 16x20. Smid said he is giving half of the profits to the Williams family, and he also wants to gift them a set of all the work from Yuquot.
The bentwood box pinhole camera is owned by PRAS with Smid being authorized as the sole camera operator.