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.

Exterior view on the waterfront of Klahoose Wilderness Resort

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.

A distance plane flies guests through the mountains

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.

Lodge room with water views at Klahoose Wilderness Resort

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.

Interior of Great Room at Klahoose Wilderness Resort

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.

Exterior of cabin

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.

Two First Peoples welcome guests to Klahoose Wilderness Resort

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.

Women doing cedar woven roses at Klahoose Wilderness Resort

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.

Aerial view of islands in a big body of water, Desolation Sound, in British Columbia

Andrew Strain/Courtesy of Destination British Columbia

Boat in the water with mountains in the distance

Kathryn Romeyn

A brown bear by the water

Kathryn Romeyn