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All the United States Washington, D.C. 'Spirit of the Haida Gwaii'

'Spirit of the Haida Gwaii'

A glimpse of the Pacific Northwest‘s indigenous culture in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

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Jutta Hennig
‘Spirit of the Haida Gwaii’   Boberger / CC BY-SA 3.0
Spirit of the Haida Gwaii   juthen51 (Atlas Obscura User)
The Spirit of the Haida Gwaii   juthen51 (Atlas Obscura User)
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Near the main entrance of the Canadian embassy is a large sculpture of a canoe peopled with 13 mythological figures of the Haida people, an indigenous group native to the islands off the northern coast of British Columbia.

The canoe is steered by the Raven, a trickster central to the creation story of many Indigenous peoples of the central and northern Pacific coast. 

He led humans into the world and gave it light by stealing the sun, the moon, and the stars from the Sky Chief who kept them locked away. The sculpture is the largest work of Canadian Artist Bill Reid, who was a proponent of indigenous rights. It features a detailed explanation of the work.

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Embassy Indigenous Sculptures History

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juthen51

Published

April 25, 2024

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