One by one, we each stood up, spread out our arms, and closed our eyes.
ButKlahoose Wilderness Resortworks to revive and protect a culture at risk of being intentionally extinguished over generations.
It also happens to be in an environment so magnificently beautiful that it deserves to be immortalized in poetry.
Credit:Courtesy of Klahoose Wilderness Resort
Our arrival was as epic as they come.
This off-the-grid experience, which operates seasonally from May to October, is only accessible via seaplane or boat.
From start to finish, our all-inclusive experience was imbued with meaning.
Courtesy of Klahoose Wilderness Resort
Thousands died at the schools and generations of trauma followed the emotional and physical abuse.
While in Vancouver before flying up, Id taken an eye-openingTalking Treeswalk through Stanley Park with the Indigenous-ownedTalaysay Tours.
Awareness and storytelling, I think, are steps toward reconciliation.
Courtesy of Klahoose Wilderness Resort
And all the guests seem eager to learn, even when the truth is horrific.
Language preservation is also a hot topic right now in Canada, helped by teaching apps.
Another evening, we carved miniature paddles in soft red cedar wood.
Courtesy of Klahoose Wilderness Resort
Hiking is on a soft, mossy trail to an oyster-strewn point.
Zooming through channels and sounds all turquoise water and gargantuan granite mountains was surreal.
But perhaps even more exciting was the potential ofseeing grizzly bearsat the end.
Courtesy of Klahoose Wilderness Resort
Theyre coming, I can feel it, said Timothy.
She then started digging in a pile of logs, dust flying.
Wildly protective, a mama bear will do everything in her power to protect and feed her young.
Courtesy of Klahoose Wilderness Resort
Like here in Klahoose, they lost totem poles and longhouses a lot of the teachings were almost forgotten.
It was totally different from what I was used to.
Its a lot of discipline to paddle every day for eight hours, Louie said, his gratitude palpable.
Courtesy of Klahoose Wilderness Resort
Now a lot of us are helping the elders by recording them, listening, and practicing.
Klahoose is a place for travelers interested inpeople and their stories nature and wildlife, too.
Andrew Strain/Courtesy of Destination British Columbia
Kathryn Romeyn
Kathryn Romeyn