Come dance with the wild woman of the woods. As a Kwakwaka'wakw chief told German anthropologist Franz Boas in the 1890s, “It is a strict law that bids us dance.” Today, the spirit of that law infuses Alert Bay's U'mista Cultural Centre, which houses an impressive and historically significant collection of wooden masks, copper shields, and potlatch-dance regalia confiscated by the government in 1921. After lengthy negotiations, a major portion of the seized art was returned to the community from various sources, mainly museums, in the early '70s, the late '80s, and early in this century.

A full-length mural of a thunderbird atop an orca adorns the centre's oceanfront exterior, a bright spot on the harbour that arcs north from the BC Ferries dock past the dilapidated St. Michael's Residential School that currently serves as the 'Namgis people's community resource centre on Cormorant Island. Modelled on a Kwakwaka'wakw bighouse, or longhouse, the adjacent U'mista Cultural Centre opened in 1980 to display the repatriated potlatch collection. Overshadowed by the three-storey residential school, a towering carved figure of Dzunukwa, the mythological wild woman of the woods, who supports a human figure, sits with several equally large ceremonial poles. Nearby, older poles in various stages of rot repose in the shelter of an open-sided shed.

In many respects, Vancouver Island mirrors B.C. as a whole: most visitors gravitate toward the southern half of each; and northerly exploration is rewarded by an increased opportunity for cultural immersion in First Nation communities. Prince Rupert and Bella Bella are two coastal towns on the mainland that typify this reality, as is Alert Bay, just off Vancouver Island's east coast north of Campbell River.

Even without catching the ferry to Alert Bay from Port McNeill, travellers along Highway 19 on northern Vancouver Island are treated to a taste of the masterful artwork associated with the 'Namgis people, in this case the Bear Pole that stands beside the Nimpkish River Bridge, carved by Jack James, a relative of Charlie James, master carver at Alert Bay in the 1920s. It was from this river in the 1870s that many of Alert Bay residents' forbears were coaxed when a fish saltery opened on Cormorant Island.

An enduring natural beauty pervades the riverside location. The villagers may have left for Alert Bay, which lies within sight on the east side of Broughton Strait, but the river's intertidal zone remains as rivetingly beautiful as any on the coast. Bald eagles circle high above while belted kingfishers swoop low across river rocks coated with lime-coloured moss. Descriptive words such as startling and awesome hardly do justice to the setting, which offers a view across the mouth of the Nimpkish estuary where it meets the ocean. In the far distance, glaciated Coast Mountain ranges wall the mainland around Knight Inlet.

Hidden from view above the U'mista centre is Alert Bay's principal bighouse, a local landmark since first built in 1966. In order to reach it, visitors must walk several blocks uphill to an open hillside dominated by a cloud-raking ceremonial pole almost 53 metres high, one of the tallest such poles in the world. As with many of the poles in Alert Bay, one of the carved figures depicted bears the likeness of a human clutching a shield. Beaten-copper shields were the most ostentatious display of a chief's temporal wealth.

Towering skyward and anchored against the wind by guy wires, the slender pole is surmounted by a four-spoked sun mask that beams down on the massive front wall of the bighouse. Outwardly imposing, the house's interior is even more impressive. Six ceiling support beams are rounded at each end, symbolic of the bull kelp to which 'Namgis ancestors clung to ride out the legendary flood that once inundated the Earth. Thunderbirds with outstretched wings adorn posts that flank each side of the twin entry doors. Sand covers the floor and bleachers line the walls. Although most cultural activities, such as potlatching, take place here during the winter-storm season, it's not hard to imagine the place teeming with button blanket–clad singers and mask-wearing dancers.

To experience the enduring world of First Nations, head along Highway 19 between Campbell River and Port Hardy and see for yourself. Even if no strict law bids you to do so.

ACCESS: BC Ferries offers frequent daily sailings to Alert Bay from Port McNeill, about 45 minutes one way. For schedule and fares, call 1-888-223-3779 or visit www.bcferries.com/. Port McNeill lies 350 kilometres north of Nanaimo via Highway 19. The U'mista Cultural Centre is open year-round, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday, and seven days a week from Victoria Day to Labour Day. An extensive display of articles in centre's collection can be viewed at www.umista.org/. For information, phone (250) 974-5403. Throughout the summer, the T'sasala Cultural Group performs dances at the Alert Bay Big House, Thursday to Saturday, from 1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.