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Open to collaborate - cultural institution notice
Our institution is committed to the development of new modes of collaboration, engagement, and partnership with Indigenous peoples for the care and stewardship of past and future heritage collections.

Terms of use
The Bill Reid Centre's digital image archive is the digital version of a research collection first assembled by Dr. George MacDonald and his wife Joanne MacDonald over their long careers in Canadian museology, archaeology, and anthropology. The archive represents the MacDonalds' deep respect for the cultures of the Northwest Coast, their connections to numerous communities along the coast, as well as their relationships with museums, archives, friends and colleagues. These images are made available here for research and educational purposes. Other uses may require permission; users are responsible for contacting copyright holders to obtain such permission.

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George and Joanne MacDonald Northwest Coast Image Archive

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: Gwa'sala People; Gwa'sala people at T'akus. The man standing on the rock or piece of driftwood is probably one of the two chiefs Powell (1873) called Mantzie and Iolthkin.

: Gwa'sala Man; Unidentified Gwa'sala man at T'akus in Smith Inlet.

: Mortuary and Frontal Pole; Mortuary pole and frontal pole of House #4 at Cumshewa.

: Cumshewa Village; Left to right, Sky House, Hair Seal House, and House that Makes a Great Noise.

: Chief's House; Chief's House.

: Sky House Poles; Totem poles associated with Sky House.

: Cumshewa Mortuary; Mortuary poles associated with Hair Seal House .

: Sketch of Gaum's House and Canyon; A drawing of the Gitladzawk fortress site and village.

: Monster House Poles; A cluster of memorial poles all belonging to the Monster House. The tall pole in the background is the frontal pole of the Halbut House, which was moved to Jasper, BC where it stood for 94 years before being repatriated back to Haida Gwaii.

: Idjao Hill; Bone House and House Searching Over the Island that sat on top of Idjao Hill behind the row of houses along the beach at the south end of Masset.

: Masset Village; Masset, from the north end of the village looking South, starting from Shiny House on the left.

: Tanu Village Panorama; The houses and their poles at the south end of the village.

: Detail: Frontal Pole Base; A detail of the House That Makes a Great Noise (like a deep sounding whistle) frontal pole base. The base figure is a killer whale with a small face in the blowhole and a tall dorsal fin above its head

: Western Cumshewa; Left to right: #1 Whale House, unfinished and unnamed house (House #2 - pole only), #3 Shaking House, Mortuary 4X and House #4.

: Eastern Cumshewa; From left to right: #5 house owned by Chief Kotlass, #6 Someone Lies Against It House, #7 (in front of 6) Greasy Whole House, and (far right) #9 unnamed house.

: Whale House; Whale House, which was abandoned at the death of the house chief. The frontal pole is leaning and is being propped up with a small pole.

: Haina Village; Locals and visitors pose in front of houses and monuments.

: House of Things Roasted on a Fire; This old house had been stripped of its sheeting by 1878. In 1882, Bertram Buxton had the frontal pole dug up and shipped to England.

: Detail of Chief Gaum's House; Detail of Chief Gaum's house from Horetzky photograph. The exterior All Hat house posts are clearly visable.

: Gaum's House and Poles; Chief Gaum's House.

: Things Roasted On a Fire’s Frontal Pole; Detail of the base of the frontal pole showing a sea wolf eating a whale. Note the small figures in the ears and on the forehead of the sea wolf.

: Things Roasted On a Fire’s Frontal Pole; The frontal pole, shown here in front of the remaining frame of the house, was dug up and shipped to England in 1882. It was returned to the National Museum of Canada in 1977.

: Monster House; Inhabitants of the Monster House with Israel Powell (on left), the first Indian superintendent of British Columbia.

: Double Mortuary; Double eagle leg mortuary that is approximately behind the Monster House.

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