The biography explores Reid's childhood in
Victoria, B.C., where he was brought up to be the perfect
English gentleman. His mother, Sophie, harboured a secret-she
was Haida. At 23, Reid took his first trip to his mother's
birthplace, the Queen Charlotte Islands, where he watched
his grandfather carve. This visit would transform his life.
Inspired by the deeply carved messages of the totems and
the lush beauty of the Queen Charlottes, Reid would go on
to create sculptural masterpieces. Raven and the First Men,
a native version of the birth of mankind, and The Spirit of
Haida Gwaii, showcased at the Canadian Embassy in Washington,
brought international acclaim. But his crowning achievement
was Lootas-a 15-metre war canoe carved from a single cedar
log.
Reid both celebrated and defended the Haida, using his fame
to champion their land claims. The biography also reveals
a darker side. He could be gruff and remote, and was often
highly critical of young native carvers. In later years, Reid
suffered from Parkinson's disease and could no longer do the
carving himself. When he died in 1998, the Haida took him
home. They brought his body back to the Queen Charlotte Islands
aboard Lootas.
Original Air Date - December 2, 2003
Bill Reid
Links
Bill
Reid: CBC Archives
The
Bill Reid Foundation
Bill
Reid (From the Royal BC Museum)
Bill
Reid Profile (from the Douglas Reynolds Gallery)
The
Spirit of Haida Gwaii (from the Canadian Embassy in Washington,
DC)
The
Respect to Bill Reid Pole (UBC Museum of Anthropology)
Bill
Reid in Memoriam (from the Canadian Museum of Civilization)
Remembering
Bill Reid (From Native Online)
Bill
Reid Art Tours in the Queen Charlotte Islands
Raven
and the First Men, carved by Bill Reid
(Note: CBC does not endorse the content of external sites.
All external sites will open in a new browser.)
|
