George and Joanne MacDonald Northwest Coast Image Archive

The Bill Reid Centre's George and Joanne MacDonald Image Archive contains images of Northwest Coast First Peoples, their villages, and their visual and material belongings. Many of the images collected by the MacDonalds are not unique, and can be found in museums and archives around the world. Throughout his career, Dr. MacDonald sought to bring these important resources together under one roof with the intent of creating access for Northwest Coast First Nations, and in particular artists, whose passion for historic imagery and visual documentation of their cultural belongings he witnessed first-hand. The archive is a reflection of the MacDonalds' research interests, their careers in archaeology and anthropology, their many relationships in the field, and their deep respect and admiration of the diverse nations of the Northwest Coast.

Contributed by The Bill Reid Centre, Simon Fraser University.

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Displaying 31 - 45 of 5804

Alert Bay Poles

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Date: 1966

Name(s): De Menil, Adelaide

Description: This is a replica of Chief Skedans' Mortuary Pole form the 1870s. It was carved by Haida artist Bill Reid in 1964.In the early 1920s, the construction of an Indian village was proposed for the area near Lumberman©s Arch in Stanley Park. The site was chosen because it was located on a massive shell midden, or cultural mound that was the result of many years of Coast Salish habitation. This large deposit of calcified shells covered an area 8 feet deep and spanning several acres. The original…

Alert Bay Poles at Stanley Park

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Date: 1966

Name(s): De Menil, Adelaide

Description: Coppies of three of the four original poles that were located at Stanley Park. In the early 1920s, the construction of an Indian village was proposed for the area near Lumberman©s Arch in Stanley Park. The site was chosen because it was located on a massive shell midden, or cultural mound that was the result of many years of Coast Salish habitation. This large deposit of calcified shells covered an area 8 feet deep and spanning several acres. The original poles were all from the Alert Bay area…

Alert Bay, de Menil Collection

Date: 1967

Name(s): De Menil, Adelaide

Description: Alert Bay or 'Yalis, meaning "Spreading Leg Beach" was an ancient resource site and has been a traditional home of the 'Namgis people for several thousand years. It is located on Cormorant Island in the Queen Charlotte Strait. In 1860 the site was renamed "Alert Bay" after a British naval gunship. Colonial entrepreneurs set up a fish saltery at 'Yalis in 1870 and persuaded the 'Namgis people to relocate there from Xwalkw to provide labour for the new factory. The Namgis Burial Grounds at Alert…