Spirit of Haida Gwaii is a sculpture by British Columbia Haida artist Bill Reid. There are three versions of it: the black canoe, the jade canoe, and a full-sized plaster original. The Black Canoe is situated in front of the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Spirit of Haida Gwaii is intended to represent the Aboriginal heritage of Haida Gwaii, formerly called the Queen Charlotte Islands, an archipelago in British Columbia, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Vancouver.
it shows a traditional Haida cedar dugout canoe which carries the following passengers: Raven, the traditional trickster of Haida mythology, holding the steering oar; Mouse Woman, crouched under Raven’s tail; Grizzly Bear, sitting at the bow and staring toward Raven; Bear Mother, Grizzly’s human wife; their cubs, Good Bear (ears pointed forward) and Bad Bear (ears pointed back); Beaver, Raven’s uncle; Dogfish Woman; Eagle; Frog and Wolf, their claws imbedded in Beaver’s back and their teeth in Eagle’s wing; a small human paddler in Haida garb known as the Ancient Reluctant Conscript; and, at the sculpture’s focal point, the human Shaman (or Kilstlaai in Haida), who wears the Haida cloak and woven spruce root hat and holds a tall staff carved with images of Seabear, Raven, and Killer Whale.
The passengers are diverse, and not always in harmony, yet they must depend on one another to live.
The Statue was dedicated in 1991. The Jade Canoe has been at the Vancouver International Airport sine 1996, and the plaster model is in the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec.
