The wind is steel-fanged, and the common-sense thing to do would be to retreat into the glassed-in observation room two decks below. Instead, I stand rooted to the fore-deck of the S.S. Universe Explorer as it glides through Alaska's Tracy Arm.
The fjord is narrow and ship squeezes by sheer rock-face pencilled by thin silver streams. The water heaves against our bows and we pass bobbing ice-floes that look like shreds of Styrofoam; then, as we wind deeper, the ship rounds a bend and I stare mesmerised at a towering wall of ice, which has endured for millennia in all its terrifying magnificence. Between us and the glacier, the iceberg floats are dotted with colonies of harbour seals and their newly born pups. In deference to them, we stop short, halt for a while, then turn around on our return journey.
The coastal vegetation of South East Alaska, its animal, marine and bird life, has much in common with that of British Columbia. So, as a resident of Canada's West Coast I am, at first, somewhat blasé about the eco-tours offered by the cruise line.
That is, until a humpback whale arches out of the waters of the Inside Passage and I feel a tingle of awe down my spine. Later, I hold my breath as a brown bear, standing barely fifty feet away on the shores of the Chilkat River warily eyes our frail raft before he turns back into the forest. By the time we arrive at the Raptor Centre in Sitka, where convalescent, fierce-eyed bald eagles stare disdainfully at us, I am clicking my camera as madly as everyone else.
British Columbia and Alaska also share another facet of West Coast life-its Native culture and heritage. The Tlingit, Tsimshian and Haida, who peopled the coastline long before the arrival of white settlers, are experiencing a heartening resurgence of pride in their songs, language and totemic traditions.
Wayne Hewson, is a Tsimshian who hails from Metakatla. Dressed in full regalia, an elaborate button blanket draped over his shoulders, he shares legends of Raven and Eagle passed down through generations. Then, accompanied by his sons on a cedar-box drum, he dances and chants age-old incantations of welcome to a spellbound ship's audience.
He also talks about the matrilineal structure of the Tlingit and Tsimshian, whereby the hereditary rights and privileges of each clan are derived from the female line. Tribal origins go back to "the beginning of the world" when creatures such as the Eagle and Raven, the Whale, Bear and Wolf were the progenitors of Native clans-so depending upon their lineage, each group is entitled to the songs, rituals, totemic symbols and regalia of their creature ancestry.
Later, in Haines, several of us watch a rousing show by the Chilkat Dancers. Totems in the corners of the Clan House stand sentinel, like keepers of ancient lore. At the Totem Bight State Park near Ketchikan, Norman, our Native guide, talks of totem raising ceremonies, of lavish potlatch festivities, and the significance of images decorating a mortuary pole. He spins the legend of Cat Woman and her warrior lover-a story of betrayal and lost love. As we listen to his tales of shamans, demons and guardian spirits, a light mist wraps ghostly fingers around the surrounding treetops.
Much of Western ideology is based on the concept of Man's superiority in the hierarchy of creation. The so-called "primitive" Natives of our West Coast, were wiser-knowing as they did, that they were not above Nature, but an intrinsic part of it. They imbued the wind, the sun and moon with mystical qualities, and celebrated in song and legend, the forests, the sea and rivers which gave of their bounty.
Its creatures-the whale, the salmon and frog-were enshrined in folk-lore. The berries and roots which sustained them, the cedar trees which sheltered, clothed and provided them with totemic symbols of their history and culture, were respected, even revered. The beaver, bear and wolf were as precious to them as their own brothers and sisters.
More than any other images of this Alaska trip, I am left with enduring memories of a land of harsh beauty, of teeming salmon streams, of frolicking sea otters and soaring eagles-and an enriched perception of a culture and people who understand that Man does not 'orchestrate' the natural world; he sings in harmony with it.
IF YOU GO:
Several cruise ships ply the Alaska coast from Vancouver, B.C. Call your local travel agent for details of schedules and costs.
About the photos:
Top: The S.S. Universe Explorer. World Explorer Cruises photo. (All other photos by Margaret Deefholts).
Next: Metlakatla's Wayne Hewson and his sons aboard ship.
Next: The top of the legendary "Cat Woman (she-bear) Totem Pole in Totem Bight State Park.
Bottom: Clan House Totem, at Totem Bight State Park.
Margaret Deefholts is a veteran travel writer/photographer.
