Editorial: The Future is Bright

February-March 2003

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
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by Alan Wilson

Alan Wilson Note: This map shows the scope of linguistic and cultural diversity among the First Nations included this issue and may be a helpful reference for readers..

This special issue of WaveLength focuses on First Nations eco-cultural tourism. We look at a number of examples of native-run projects, many centered around traditional dugout canoe paddling, and we provide a Directory of First Nations tourism opportunities so you can pursue these experiences for yourself. The great cedar canoes were central to life on the Pacific Northwest coast for 10,000 years, but the craft of canoe carving very nearly died out in the last century. Now, thanks to a few who have carried on this skill and are teaching it to others, there is a renaissance in the canoe culture.

In society at large, there is a growing appreciation of these traditional arts and, similarly, a new pride arising in First Nations communities to share them with the world. The promise of eco-cultural tourism is a new economic diversification for coastal communities, a model which celebrates and enhances cultural traditions, building pride and strength among the people.

At the same time that this development is taking place, First Nations in British Columbia, along with provincial and federal negotiators, are groping their way forward toward long-overdue treaties throughout the province. This is a slow and sometimes frustrating process, but a peaceful one, demonstrating the ability of people to settle differences and find justice without the resort to force.

In diversity there is strength - that's the lesson of nature, and that's the lesson for modern society. Cultural diversity, linguistic diversity, biological diversity are all good. As we learn about other ways and other peoples, we grow.

There is wisdom to be found in the ways of people who have lived on this coast for millennia, and it is respect for life. The way forward is not to plunder and despoil nature, but to work in harmony with it, to celebrate and live sustainably with it - and with one another.

As you read the stories and see the images in this issue, I hope you will feel, as I do, an increased connection with our coast and its people, and increasing respect and support for the diversities around us.