Winter 2012 - page 1 - www.umista.ca T’SIT’SAK’ALAM

I’wakalas Harry Hanuse ........................................1

Re-introducing Stephen Bruce Jr. ........................3

What is ettiquette? ................................................4

In the Giftshop ......................................................5

Gifts, Grants, Donations........................................6

Harry Hanuse Kulus ..............................................7

Sam Charlie’s Big House ......................................8

T’sit’sakT’sit’sak’’ alal aamm

I’wakalas, Chief Harry Hanus (Hanuse)

Kwakwaka’wakw family groups are called, ’na’mimawhich means “of one kind” or “numayma fellows” or alsona’memot. ’Na’mima are the most primary social units inKwakwaka’wakw culture. The Kwakwaka’wakw trace theirorigins back to their ancestral creation through their ’na’mi-ma. Lower-ranked chiefs within a ’na’mima owe their creationto their ancestral chief. A head chief gave roles and responsi-bilities to the families within his ’na’mima in which no twopeople were of equal rank. ’Na’mima chiefs had three mainadministrative responsibilities which included economicorganization, management of his territory and directing cere-monial obligations. These positions had to be publicly con-firmed at a potlatch.

The ’na’mima of the Mamalilikala included

1. Tamtaml~al’s (Ground Shakers)2. Wi’wumasgam3. ’Walas (the great one)4. Ma’malilikam (the real Malilikala)

Born 1882 Iwakalas, Chief Harry Hanus (Hanuse)was born in ’Mimkwamlis to Klomoksa’la and K’lilinox(Lucy) making him both Mamalilikala and an only child. Hispaternal grandfather Maxwa, was head chief of theTamtaml~al’s. His oldest daughter, Lucy Brown (ne’e Hanuse)tells of “…Harry becoming a chief at eleven or twelve yearsof age. He gave his first speech to a huge potlatch assemblyat Salmon River. Evidently all the chiefs that were present[were] amazed at his ability to conduct himself in potlatchbusiness. In essence he had saved his ’na’mima from disap-pearing.” Harry married Mary Deborah Charlie (sister to SamCharlie) and together they had Lucy Marion (Adawis)Hanuse, Annie Laura Hanuse, George Harry Hanuse, AliceEthel Hanuse, Alexander Hanuse, Alfred James Hanuse,Daniel Edgar Hanuse, Frederick Clarence Hanuse, FlorenceEleanor Hanuse, Wilfred Hanuse and Stella Mae Hanuse.

Harry and Mary Hanuse with their daughter Annie

Photo courtesy Wedlidi Speck

‘Yalis sunrise, October 2011. Photography courtesy Juanita Johnston

Harry was a fisherman, a logger, a businessmen,a chief, an engineer and from all accounts a thoughtfuland caring person. He promised the missionaries sta-tioned at ’Mimkwamlis to supply them with free fire-wood for as long as he was alive. This was a promisethat he kept. Harry was active in the potlatch system allhis life. The book, “An Iron Hand Upon The People,”depicts an image of a flour potlatch in ’Yalis c.1914attributed to Harry. In December of 1921, DanCranmer’s potlatch was held at Harry’s gukwdzi (BigHouse), which was named Li’xid, “the Great House.”Harry was known for his natural ability with math andhis engineering skills. He shortened his already con-structed big house from 100 feet to 80 feet due to anunstable bank. When Lucy Brown (Adawis) was aroundfour years old he raised a pole with three eagles for her.

in front of the Council Hall. Harry’s Kwikw or Eagle-seat name was Malidadzi and his wife’s was Koda’yi.

At Dan Cranmer’s potlatch in 1921, Harry paid a cop-per back to Dan and then repurchased it for $3,000.00Acting on behalf of Emma Cranmer, Harry paid herhusband Dan furniture, canoes, blankets, etc. Harry waspaying back the bride price for her as a woman can notspeak at a Potlatch.

Harry Hanuse passed away in 1927 at the young age of45. Although he died quite young, Harry left an endur-ing legacy in his descendants who are culturally activeand continue to practice their culture.

In 1994, Harry’s regalia was transferred from theKwagiulth Museum & Cultural Centre (now theNuyumbalees Cultural Centre) to the U’mista CulturalCentre as per his family’s wishes. It is now on display(along with Sam Charlie’s regalia) in the Big House

Winter 2012 - page 2 - www.umista.ca T’SIT’SAK’ALAM

continued on page 3

Chief Harry Hanuse is in the middle left of the picture. SimonBeans is in front. Possibly Billy Beans beside Hanuse? It hasbeen suggested that the man behind Hanuse is eitherWa'xonakulas - Hanuse's uncle and who Hanuse named his sonFreddie after, or it might be Komaxalas.

Photograph and caption courtesy Wedlidi Speck.

Harry and Mary Hanuse with their children photographed at theirhome in Village Island, l-r; Fred, Dan, Jack and Alex with babyFlora.

Photograph and caption courtesy Stan Hunt.

Introducing...Stephen Bruce, Gift Shop ManagerStephen started working at the U’mista Cultural Centre on July 5, 2007 as asummer student. Former director, Andrea Sanborn was undoubtedly impressedwith Stephen and his work ethic as she hired him for three summers. Currentdirector, Sarah E. Holland was equally impresed with Stephen’s abilities and sawhis potential to develop into Gift Shop Manager. Stephen started training in hisnew role during the summer of 2011. He is responsible for all aspects of theshop from buying from artists, to ordering stock to training and supervising oursummer students. Stephen is enjoyiing his training and continues to do a greatjob.

One area where Stephen particularly excels is customer service. How many ofyou have ever been so impressed with a shop clerk you met on holiday that youinvited them to visit you in your country? Well, Stephen gets these kinds ofinvitations and fan mail regularly! Stephen has indeed proven himself to be anideal ambassador for the Kwakwaka’wakw. When Stephen is at the front desk,the U’mista team knows for sure that all our visitors are being welcomed warmly and treated with respect andkindness.

Thanks for all your hard-work and commitment Stephen, we would be lost without you!

Gallery and the gallery directly beside the PotlatchCollection.

This biography is the beginning of our research intoHarry Hanuse and other original owners of the confis-cated coppers and regalia that make up the PotlatchCollection. Please feel free to contact us here at U’mistaif you would like to share more information on HarryHanuse, Sam Charlie, Harry Mountain, Sam Scow,Abraham, Waxawidi, Joseph Speck, John Drabble orany of the other original owners. Although our currentproject is slated to be completed on March 31st, 2011,we will continue to build the files on the original own-ers with the information we gather. These can then beshared with the families.

SOURCES:

Cole, Douglas & Ira Chaikin1990 An Iron Hand Upon the People: The Law Against thePotlatch on the Northwest Coast. Vancouver: Douglas &McIntyre Ltd.Reid, Martine and Daisy Sewid-Smith2004 Paddling to Where I Stand. Vancouver: UBC Press

Speck, Wedlidi2012 Personal Communication.UTN-00093a – Interview with Lucy BrownRoyal Canadian Mounted Police Crime Reports, “E”Division, Vancouver, BC. Alert Bay detachment 01st March,1922, 19th April 1922

This project has been made possible in part through a grant fromthe Museums Assistance Program, Department of CanadianHeritage.

Stephen Bruce outside U’mista.Photography Courtesy U’mista.

Winter 2012 - page 3 - www.umista.ca T’SIT’SAK’ALAM

continued from page 2

Would you like to contribute to theNewsletter? We accept articles from our

membership, please submit them to U’mistavia fax, mail or email. We prefer digital copiesfor ease of incorporation to the newsletter.

Fax: 250 974-5499 or emal: juanita@umista.ca

PO Box 253, Alert Bay, BC V0N 1A0

This is the interior view of the house belonging to Chief Harry Hanuse. Those living in the house were from chief Maxwa(Gway'uthilas), Hanuse, and Dawson families. The name of the house is Li'xid, "the great house" The logs for the house wereobtained from Port Havey. Hanuse contructed the house to be 100 ft long, but, due to an unstable bank, he reduced it to 80 feet. Thehouse was shortened after it had been finished and lived in. Hanuse was known for his engineering skills.The poles were carved byBondsound. To contribute to the building of the house, Maxwa paid for the poles. He paid 300 dollars. The house posts were ravenover grizzly bears in front and hok hok over grizzly bears in the back of the house. The house dishes included killer whale, whale, andwolf dishes. The wolf dishes come from the Gilgamaxsala. The Gilgimaxsala family are one of three groups who make up theTumtumshels. The Tumhals, and Xa'igiwae are the others. Hanuse was the head chief of the Gilgamaxsala, Maxwa was head of theTumtumshels and Xumdaas - Kwakwabalas was head of the Xa'igiwae. Wedlidi Speck, personal communication

Photograph courtesy of Royal BC Museum, PN 2777

What is etiquette?Dictionary.com defines et!i!quette [et-i-kit, -ket] noun

1. conventional requirements as to social behavior; proprieties of conduct as established in any class or communityor for any occasion.2. a prescribed or accepted code of usage in matters of ceremony, as at a court or in official or other formalobservances.3. the code of ethical behavior regarding professional practice or action among the members of a profession intheir dealings with each other: medical etiquette.

During a recent Potlatch the speaker announced the Chief did not want their Potlatch posted on Facebook,Youtube or any other social media site. Please be respectful to your hosts and abide by their wishes. In thesechanging times, we need to be aware that our seemingly innocent actions have far reaching consequences.

Winter 2012 - page 4 - www.umista.ca T’SIT’SAK’ALAM

Check out this great new book in the shop!

From Talon Books, http://talonbooks.com/books/discovery-passages

With breathtaking virtuosity, Garry Thomas Morse sets out to recover the appropri-ated, stolen and scattered world of his ancestral people from Alert Bay to QuadraIsland to Vancouver, retracing Captain Vancouver’s original sailing route. Thesepoems draw upon both written history and oral tradition to reflect all of therespective stories of the community, which vocally weave in and out of the dialog-ics of the text.

A dramatic symphony of many voices, Discovery Passages uncovers the political,commercial, intellectual and cultural subtexts of the Native language ban, the pot-latch ban and the confiscation and sale of Aboriginal artifacts to museums byIndian agents, and how these actions affected the lives of both Native and non-Native inhabitants of the region. This displacement of language and artifacts rever-berated as a profound cultural disjuncture on a personal level for the author’s people, the Kwakwaka’wakw, as their family and tribal possessions became at onceboth museum artifacts and a continuation of the tradition of memory throughanother language. Morse’s continuous poetic dialogue of “discovery” and “recov-ery” reaches as far as the Lenape, the original Native inhabitants of Mannahatta inwhat is now known as New York, and on across the Atlantic in pursuit of theEuropean roots of the “Voyages of Discovery” in the works of Sappho, Socrates,Virgil and Frazer’s The Golden Bough, only to reappear on the American continentto find their psychotic apotheosis in the poetry of Duncan Campbell Scott.

With tales of Chiefs Billy Assu, Harry Assu and James Sewid; the family story “TheYoung Healer”; and transformed passages from Whitman, Pound, Williams andBowering, Discovery Passages links Kwakwaka’wakw traditions of the past withcontemporary poetic tradition in B.C. that encompasses the entire scope of relations between oral and vocal tradition, ancient ritual, historical contextuality andour continuing rites.

Winter 2012 - page 5 - www.umista.ca T’SIT’SAK’ALAM

In the Gift Shop...

$19.95

Barb Cranmer Produces another beautiful film, “Potlatch, To Give”

OUR PEOPLE ACKNOWLEDGE every aspect of our lives through ritual and cere-mony, from birth to death. Central to our way of life is our P’asa, or Potlatch.The most important aspect of the P’asa is our T’seka, or red edar bark cere-monies. That is when people enter the spirit world to gain supernatural powerand connet to our history and dances. For these ceremonies, we enter ourgukwdzi, our Bighouse, where the firelight in the middle o the floor sets thescene for rich ceremony and theatrics. Our ceremonial regalia and masks con-nect us to our ancestral roots and make us a distinct people.

The first film is a 10-minute narrative documentary showing the potlatch cer-remony and discussing its importance in the passing down of history and con-nection to ancestry.

The second 13-minute film immerses the viewer in the experience itself with apowerful soundscape that was filmed in the Bighouse during this traditionalceremony that connects families and community for Canada's IndigenousNorthwest Coast people.$25.00

Winter 2012 - page 6 - www.umista.ca T’SIT’SAK’ALAM

1987Framed Killerwhale Print by Doug Cranmer - gift of JayStewart.

Killerwhale face mask by Henry Hunt - gift of Peter L.Macnair.

1996Clam Basket by Agnes Alfred (possibly),Vest, with Sisiyutl Designs,Vest, Sisiyutl Thunderbird designVest, Salmon and Thunderbird designCanoe - Museum Print by Doug Cranmergift of Jay Stewart and Peter L. Macnair.

2001“box of treasures” Royal Albert China, design by Ellen Neelgift of Jay Stewart and Peter L. Macnair.

200216” Eugene Hunt DrumCrochet Wall Hanging - Thunderbird & WhaleCrochet Wall Hanging - Kolus and SisiyutlBooks, The Social Organization of the Haisla of BC, Sociallife of the Owikeen Kwakiutl and Notes on the Bella BellaKwakiutl by Ronald Olson.gift of Jay Stewart and Peter L. Macnair.

2003Mug, “Ne-na Wadeeedee Memorial ‘95”gift of Jay Stewart and Peter L. Macnair.

2005Kulus headdress by Tom HuntBakwas mask by Joe DavidButton Blanket by Alice Smith

Button Blanket by Margaret CookWool vest, thunderbird designApron with Sun designAttendant vest design by Bruce AlfredGrease skimmerCooking tongs, miniature by Chief Peter SmithBaby rattle by Chief Peter Smithgifts of Jay Stewart and Peter L. Macnair.

2010Potlatch Trunk, one large and one smallFive Lloyd Wadhams silkscreened wood blocksHalibut bowl by Mungo MartinHalibut bowl by Stephen Kenneth HuntReckitt’s Blue box Dolfinarium invitationFramed photographsBox of Miscellaneous potlatch t-shirts, mugs and sweatshirts. Twenty-two items in totalgifts of Jay Stewart and Peter L. Macnair.

The U'mista Cultural Society appreciates the generous support of all our donors whose gen-erosity is reflected by our continued development of the U'mista Cultural Centre for the bene-fit of our communities and future generations.

We are grateful for your continued support. This issue we would like to say a very specialGilakas’la to long time supporters of U’mista. Jay Stewart and Peter Macnair have alwaysbeen big supporters of any and all of our endeavors. In recognition of their support, theBoard of Directors appointed them lifetime honorary members in 2003.

Gifts, Grants and Donations...

Detail of blanket made by Margaret Cook, gift of Peter Macnairand Jay Stewart. Gilakas’la!

Photograph courtesy of U’mista Cultural Centre. 2012

Owner: Chief I’wakalas Harry Hanuse of theMamalilikala. Returned from: Canadian Museum ofCivilization, VII.E.487; 979.1.66 to the NuyumbaleesCultural Society, Cape Mudge, but the family requestedits transfer to the U'mista Cultural Society in Alert Bay

Materials: wood, cedar; glass; fibre, cotton; rubber

Kulus is a young thunderbird who lives in the sky. He isrespected as a helpful and protective spirit of chosenancestors. In many legends, Kulus is referred to as theyounger brother or sister of the Thunderbird. Kulusdoes not have feathers and is noted for its very thickcoat of white down; it is said to be so thick that thebird has the tendency to perspire, and is happy toremove his covering and become human for a while.This refers to the ability, like the Thunderbird, to trans-form and become human. In most origin stories, aKulus flew down from heaven and shed his costume tobecome the founding ancestor of the tribe or clan.

Winter 2012 - page 7 - www.umista.ca T’SIT’SAK’ALAM

Harry Hanuse holds his daughter Ethel, to his left is unidenti-fied?, and in front of her is his wife Mary Hanuse (ne’e Charlie).

Photograph courtesy of Stan Hunt

Sam Charlie’s regalia during exhibit installation in the ThirdGallery, beside the Potlatch Collection

Photograph courtesy U’mista Cultural Centre

Kulus headdress belonging to Chief I’wakalas, Harry Hanuse,UCC 94.09.010

Photograph: Sharon Eva Grainger

Winter HOURS of OPERATIONOpen Tuesday to Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

!"#$%&'()*+&*,'+()-.&,-/0(123(4567+-,&(1'89(1)(:;<(=7;/>2.-(45;?@AB?5B;6(((C'3(45;?@AB?5B@@DDD?*#$%&'?E' -#'$+($.F2G*#$%&'?E'

U’mista’s logo shows thesun in human form. Thecreator Doug Cranmersaid, “It wasn’t a great bigfireball in the sky to the[Kwakwaka’wakw], he’s alittle guy who gets up everymorning, puts his abaloneearrings on and walks acrossthe sky. His earrings are thethings that get the light.”

“The bighouse belonged to chief Xalx’id of theMa'malelegam namima of the Mamalilikala tribe.Xalx’id had several titles amongst the Mamalilikala.According to the late chief Jimmy Sewid, Xalx’idowned the name Maleleqala; he held the rights tothe ancestral name. Xalx’id was also Wa'mis in theMa'malelegam; The name Datinside was transferedas well as a huge chiefs hat with the sun designwhen he married Komanuxw. The Sun man on topof the house is connected to this dowry transfer.Sisantla namima has been referrenced as fromwhere the standing has been transfered from and ispart of the Ma'malelegam. This would suggest thatthe Ma'malelegam has two groups; theMa'malelegam and Sisantla. Boas/Hunt collectionsays that Walas Kwaxilanogwame was a name hehad amongst the Tumtumshels. Family history sug-gests that the name came from his mother and wasKwaxilanogwame. It was an Eagle seat in theGilgamasala family of the Tumtumshels. This titlewent to my grandmother Lucy (Brown, ne’e Hanuse).Xalx’id had the name Sisaxalis amongst theWi'womasgam of the Mamalilikala, the nameYa'qalas and the seat the name filled came from theLelewagila of the Dzawadenoxw. His second eagleseat had the name Lalakuts'atsi and was from theMa'malelegam. Jimmy Sewid said Xalx’id had thename Chuq'chuq'gwill'lee'gee. This name dosen't

come up against the list of names provided by myfamily. It could have been Xalx’id’s summer name. He married Komanewx of the Walas namima. She was from the house ofHi'you'gweese. The sisiutl originates from the time when the myth people captured the sisiutl to acquire the winter ceremonial fromthe Myth People -wolves. There is a huge rock on the beach where the sisiult was dressed. Xalx’id’s son Sam became the head chiefof the Ma'malelegam. Xalx’id’s daughter, Mary Hanuse held the title name of K'oti amongst the Ma'malelegam. My name Wedlidicomes from this house. My brother George has the name Wa'gila from this house.”

Photograph courtesy Royal BC Museum PN 1067

Xalx’idby Wedlidi Speck

Winter 2012- page 8 - www.umista.ca T’SIT’SAK’ALAM