User:OldManRivers/Alert Bay


 * ''This article is for the community in the Queen Charlotte Strait region of British Columbia, and should not be confused with the community of Alert, Nunavut.

Alert Bay (2006 Population 556) is a small community on Cormorant Island, British Columbia, Canada. Cormorant Island consists primarily of the village of Alert Bay. Alert Bay was named by Captain G.H Richards of the Royal Navy in 1860 after HMS Alert. In kwak'wala, the indigenous language of the Kwakwaka'wakw, the name of the village is 'Yalis. The community is home to the 'Namgis people, with half of the population being indigenous.

History
Originally the 'Namgis lived across from Alert Bay at the mouth of the Nimpkish River in the village of Xwalkw, but later moved to Cormorant Island when the fish cannery and residential school opened. The shore of the village one hosted a number of bighouses representing the clans of the 'Namgis. In 1963, a bighouse was constructed but was destroyed in a fire in August 1997. It was then rebuilt and opened in May 1999. This house is used for traditional uses by Kwakwaka'wakw, like potlatches and other ceremonies of their culture. Outside of this bighouse, stands the world largest totem pole, with figures representing the animal figures from all Kwakwaka'wakw history and spirituality.

In 1921, the Federal Government, in an effort to stop the potlatch under Section 116 of the Indian Act, pillaged the community of such items as wooden masks, copper shields, and potlatch-dance regalia, some of which were later placed in the U’mista Cultural Centre in the village. During the 70s and 80s, the population regained their possessions after long negotiations. The artifacts housed in the cultural centre were given back to the village population as well as items stored in other museums.

About
There is one automatic teller machine, one grocery store and one museum in Alert Bay. The town is served by a public-use airport, the Alert Bay Airport. The volcanism at Alert Bay is part of the Alert Bay Volcanic Belt. It appears to have been active in Pliocene and Pleistocene time. No Holocene eruptions are known, and volcanic activity in the belt has likely ceased.