Vol4,No.9,May00

WASCO RISING

If you go down to the woods today ... you're in for a big surprise.

A ferocious Wasco will be waiting at the entrance to the Spirit Lake Trail to greet hikers this summer.

Artists Pat Wesley and Bill Bellis are nearing completion of a cedar likeness of the sea wolf of Haida legend. Raised on two poles in the traditional style, the five by eight foot sculptural plaque will be the largest piece of monumental public art to be raised in Skidegate since Bill Reid's frontal pole was erected in 1978.

Like most work of this nature the sculpture began as a sketch. Only in this case, the drawing appeared on the cover of a promotional brochure for the 4-km Spirit Lake trail. Brochure designer Rolf Bettner realized there was an opportunity to enhance the trailhead.

"I talked to Pat and suggested he carve a large sculpture for the entry gate to the trail. He and Bill have been putting in five-day weeks ever since," said Bettner who is carrying the promotional end of the project.

The Trust's Arts Endowment Fund provided $9,000 for the making of the sculpture with the Skidegate band council fronting the rest of the funding dollars for its completion and raising.

According to legend the demise of the monster came at the hands of a Haida hunter who went searching for his missing eight younger brothers. Directed to guhlra Lake (Spirit Lake) by Mouse Woman, the young man built a trap for Wasco from uprooted cedar trees.

Bill Bellis and Pat Wesley at work carving the Wasco panel that will sit atop two poles at the entrance of the Spirit Lake Trail, Skidegate.

Using two children as bait, he set the trap in the middle of the lake. When the sea wolf emerged from the watery depths to eat the children, the trap was snapped around its neck and the creature drowned. The young man then cut the Wasco open and out poured the bones of his dead brothers. Using medicine given to him by Mouse Woman, the young man was able to revive his siblings.

Both artists hope this project will lead to other public monumental works being raised in the village.·

BRIEF CASES

BUSINESS PLAN IN NEW HANDS
The Gwaii Trust hired consultant Norman Dale to complete the Trust's Business Plan for the next five years. Mr. Dale's working history on the Islands dates back before the very beginning of the trust fund when he served as senior planner and negotiations advisor to the Gwaii Trust Interim Planning Society.·

A STITCH IN TIME
Those Islanders putting together proposals for any of the Gwaii Trust's funding programs need to be aware of the new deadline. The office will only accept faxed or hand delivered proposals up to 4 p.m. In addition, each applicant must have both an application form and a detailed proposal. Phone the office for copies of the new revised criteria for Legacy and Micro-Infrastructure programs. The next quarterly deadline for both the Micro-Infrastructure Program. The Legacy Fund arrives June 15. The Micro-Infrastructure Program was established to fund "small community" infrastructure projects that otherwise would not get funding from other sources. The Legacy Fund covers a percentage of the costs of worthwhile projects in the fields of education, training, culture, arts, youth and senior programming.·

MASTER OF OUR DOMAIN
Having trouble downloading documents off the Gwaii Trust website? You're not alone. But fret no longer. To ensure such frustrating glitches are a thing of the past the trust hired a Masset-based computer company to maintain the website. For those new to the site, point your browser to www.gwaiitrust.com

ART IN ACTION

The Gwaii Trust approved $45,659 in applications to the Arts Endowment Fund in the areas of education and
training, collaboration projects and mentoring. Here are just a few of the artistic projects now underway:

Josina Davis is developing a one-woman show called "Sea of Love" which the local playwright describes as an exploration of "people in love, out of love and looking for love." This summer she will be working with a Vancouver-based director who specializes in Italian comedic drama and clowning to help her develop a more physical theatre. The play will be performed on-Island in the fall after its premier at the Utter Theatre Festival (Aug. 10-13) in Prince Rupert.

Hollyhock Farms on Cortez Island will be the fall destination of choice for local musician Tammy Muller who is attending a voice improvisation workshop. International vocal artist "Rhiannon" who records with jazz singer Bobby McFerrin will be leading the week-long workshop.

Since graduating from art college Morgan Bristol has always wanted to explore furniture design using metal and fabric. The opportunity just never arose, until master upholsterers Jan Coles and Leslie Wood agreed to mentor the Tlell artist. After his apprenticeship, Bristol plans to work with art students at Queen Charlotte Senior Secondary on an "Inspiration Chair" and exhibit his new works in solo exhibit slated for the fall.

Carving is Tony Greene's ticket out of the logging industry. His search to "learn everything to do with Haida art" led him to work with wood under Robert Davidson. Two years later he's committing his designs to metal under an Arts Endowment apprenticeship with Skidegate carver Busy Mcquire. For the next 40 days, Greene will be learning how to cut and engrave silver bracelets, earrings and rings.

Vancouver's Edam Performing Arts Society is offering an intensive dance workshop this summer and Celina Laursen will be in that number. The Charlotte-based dance instructor will be taking five classes a day in modern dance and improvisation for two weeks. Those attending her dance show in October can see the rewards of that schooling in motion.

An interactive mineral and fossil exhibit will soon front Crystal Cabin Gallery in Tlell. Artist Dutes Duthiel will be creating a monumental medicine wheel out of rock and steel as a creative natural history lesson on the geology of Graham Island. The educational exhibit, which is accompanied by an interpretive booklet, will be designed to appeal to people of all-ages. ·

Cats, Just Wanna Have Fun

Queen Charlotte City will see the opening of the Islands first cathouse this summer thanks to funding from the Gwaii Trust.

The SPCA received a $2,600 grant towards equipping a "cat sanctuary" for abandoned and mistreated cats waiting for adoption.

"This new adoption centre will be indoors with access to a covered deck and a general play area for the cats," explains SPCA president Dorothy Garrett. "People interested in adopting will be able to interact with the cats and get to know each of their personalities."

Climbing trees, a kitty playpen and interactive toys offer the cats a more "feline friendly" environment then the heated outdoor kennels in the Garrett's backyard which has served as an animal shelter for more than 12 years. In addition, the steel cages of the past have been replaced with portable wooden cages crafted by local carpenter Dan Galloway.

The design of the centre is in keeping with new discoveries in animal behaviour which show that environments catering to a cat's more playful social side are rewarded with higher adoption rates. "It's about making cats happy," Garrett says.

The centre was also designed to be totally portable so the SPCA can visit other communities on the Islands. But what the centre does not have is a lot of space and Garrett appreciates people phoning ahead before they drop off cats.

The SPCA's Dorothy Garrett and son Evan playing with one of their feline guests in front of the handmade cages.

Also available to the public is a book and video resource library on cats and dogs. Cat lovers will get a chance to see the SPCA's new digs at the Open House on June 3.

Last year the SPCA played host to 74 cats, a vast majority of which were adopted into good homes. Not to be forgotten, dogs will also find shelter at the SPCA. Funds were raised last year to build two dog runs and a covered shed in Port Clements as an emergency holding space. Money is raised locally through public events such as the duck race held at Hospital Days.·

That Magic Blue-Chip

The market value of the Gwaii Trust fund has climbed to an impressive $56-million in just over three years.

Since the fund started in September 1996, it has earned a compounded annual return of 13%. That translates into a "profit" of $13.5 million even after paying out $7.8 million in disbursements to the communities through the Trust's various programs.

Investment manager Tony Gage of Phillips, Hager and North said the bonds and stocks side of the investment portfolio has done especially well.

In fact, last fall the sale of 26,000 shares in Nortel Networks Corp. netted the fund $1.8 million. Gage said the sale of the shares was consistent with the Trust's overall investment strategy.

"If we hadn't reduced the amount of the stock the Gwaii Trust would have had exposure to one company to the extend of 8% of the total fund," Gage said.

While the bulk of Gwaii Trust stocks are invested in the banking sector, the total portfolio is well diversified among bonds, equities, mortgages and treasury bills. Since the fund is held under the Trustee Act of B.C. investing choices are restricted to well-established companies-blue chip companies like Alcan Aluminum and the Toronto-Dominion Bank.·

The original fund of $38.2 million has grown to $42 million with the interest being invested into the communities each year. "It's been a very very good period of time for the fund," Gage added.

THE DIGITAL LONGHOUSE

A planned computer animation school in Masset may be the silver lining in the Skills Centre's cloudy future.

The Skills Centre received $100,000 through the All-Island Infrastructure program to launch a "digital longhouse" offering courses in Walt Disney-style computer animation. During the next few months the Skills Centre is expected to be retrofitted with new computer suites and software.

Skills Centre chair Kevin Brown says the school will be marketed as cheaper than Vancouver-area competition and will appeal to those who want to experience the less virtual surroundings of Haida Gwaii. If successful, the project is expected to offset the costs of meet-ing local training needs.

"In a depressed economy where people need training there's just not enough money to carry off the training programs. That's why we have to be innovative and creative and think outside the box," Brown says.

"... we have to be innovative and creative and think outside the box," says Skills Centre chair Kevin Brown

That thinking led to plans for an animation and a wood training school, both of which are expected to offer class room instruction within the year. Brown says the animation school was originally targeting First Nations students but that was felt to be too limiting in scope.

"We want to reach a broader public," he explains. "The wider the better."

In the meantime, the province has provided $180,000 in additional operating monies to maintain Skill Centre operations during this fiscal year. The Skills Centre is also discussing a formal partnership with the Greater Masset Development Corporation

The other project to receive funding under the Major Infrastructure Program was the Pallant Creek Hatchery ($88,000). ·

	The Newsletter of the Gwaii Trust Society

	Volume 4, Number 9, - May 2000