CBC Digital Archives

1980: Prince Charles unveils Reid sculpture

From the moment he was born at Buckingham Palace on Nov. 14, 1948, the world has known his name. He's Queen Elizabeth's eldest son, heir to the British throne, and his personal life has been making headlines for decades. So naturally, whenever the Prince of Wales visits Canada, the CBC is there.

"In Haida legend, it was the raven who, by opening up the clamshell, inadvertently shaped the destiny of the Haida world," explains reporter Karin Wells. She's giving some background to describe sculptor Bill Reid's latest creation, a complex sculpture called The Raven and the First Men. In this 1980 CBC Radio clip, we hear Prince Charles officially unveiling Reid's impressive new sculpture at the University of British Columbia's Museum of Anthropology.
• To learn more about sculptor Bill Reid, please see the topic The Life and Legend of Bill Reid.
  • The Bill Reid Foundation's website says that The Raven and the First Men depicts the story of human creation: "According to Haida legend, the Raven found himself alone one day on Rose Spit beach in Haida Gwaii (also known as the Queen Charlotte Islands). He saw an extraordinary clamshell and protruding from it were a number of small human beings. The Raven coaxed them to leave the shell to join him in his wonderful world. Some of the humans were hesitant at first, but they were overcome by curiosity and eventually emerged from the partly open giant clamshell to become the first Haida."

• Prince Charles's visit to Canada in 1980 included stops in Ottawa, Vancouver and Victoria. The visit lasted from March 30 to April 3.

Medium: Radio
Program: Arts National
Broadcast Date: April 2, 1980
Guest(s): Prince Charles, George MacDonald, Bill Reid
Reporter: Karin Wells
Duration: 8:10
Photo: Photo by Joe Goldberg, Haida sculpture used under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 generic licence.

Last updated: February 15, 2012

Page consulted on December 6, 2013

All Clips from this Topic

Related Content

Canada Welcomes Prince Charles

From the moment he was born at Buckingham Palace on Nov. 14, 1948, the world has known his nam...

1980: Canada boycotts Moscow Olympics

There won't be any Canadian athletes at the 1980 summer Olympics. The government is boycotting...

1980: Trudeau triumphs, Clark concedes

Joe Clark's Tory minority proves short-lived when the Liberals win a majority in the 1980 elec...

Charles, the painting primate

A gorilla at the Toronto Zoo makes a splash in the art world with his colourful work.

1996: Prince Charles goes solo

Girl Guides, biomedical engineers and the Lieutenant Governor greet Prince Charles in Frederic...

1986: A royal opening for Expo 86

B.C. kicks off the Expo in royal fashion, with the Prince and Princess of Wales in attendance.