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First Nations Canoe Races Photographed A Century Apart

Two photographs show first nations canoes racing. One photograph is a slightly fuzzy black and white image showing five canoes paddling away from the photographer. The lower photograph is in color, shows six first nation canoes. The water around the canoes in both photographs is churned by the intense activity of the paddlers.

Source: Ladysmith Archives

Date: 1910

Source: Quentin Goodbody

Date: 2021

 

The top black and white photograph shows a canoe race in about 1910 in Ladysmith Harbour with the town’s coal loading wharves, washeries and bunkers forming the mid-centre skyline.

The underlying colour photograph shows a canoe race in nearby Kulleet Bay in 2021. These two photographs, taken over a hundred years apart, show the continuity of the Coast Salish Stz’uminus First Nation culture. The Beat Goes On!