The question that arises is that just why and how so-called developed civilizations, whether in Europe or Asia, had the temerity to refer to the art of the various peoples of the West Coast of Canada as 'primitive'. On viewing these objects, one is struck by their beauty, their exquisite display of the creator's observation of nature—a mosquito head dress comes instantly to mind; one appreciates the fantastic use of material that speaks of a highly developed sense of technology (yes, one uses the word on purpose), an artistic mentality tied to cultural uses, whether they be shamanistic, as objects of confirmation of a person's station in life, or purely utilitarian.

As yet we do not know the age of these objects. Many, certainly, were created within a fairly recent time—by this one means within about 200 years of their creation—because wooden objects do not usually last very long in the damp climate of the West Coast rainforest. The pieces created from bone or antlers, however, most certainly can be older than just a few hundred years.

When the West Coast peoples came in contact with Europeans in the early 18^th century, they acquired metal objects, knives, and other metal tools that would have given them the ability to develop their already remarkable designs into an even finer art. It speaks of the ability of the carvers, it speaks of their adaptability to apply metal tools to their art, which gives us the extraordinary pieces that are now on display at the AGO. One of the most remarkable is a Human Face Mask with well-modulated features (click on image below to enlarge). This mask still shows signs of once having had human hair attached to indicate a mustache, small beard and hair on the head. Early photographs (not in this display) show that many of the men of the West Coast peoples had generous mustaches, unlike the hairless faces of the eastern First Nations men, who had no facial hair.

Gerald McMaster, curator of Canadian art, said the collection on view at the AGO, "is among the most important collection of North American First Nations art in existence." One does not doubt this. He stated, "These works give Canadians the opportunity to not only see the beauty of these objects, but [to] reflect on this country's First Nations history." And that is something we should do for we have up to now concentrated mostly on the odd totem pole carved by the Haida and the Tlingit, who inhabit the North West Coast of BC. We did not know that their neighbors living in the Skeena River watershed had just as important works of art for us to consider.

What is interesting in this exhibit is that we can also observe that the Tsimshian traded with First Nations from east of the mountains that separate BC from the rest of what we now call Canada. There are small birch bark baskets on display, something that would not have been part of the normal day-to-day objects of the First Nations peoples living along the BC coast and its mountains. Birch is not a tree found naturally in this part of the country. This tells us that trade with the eastern peoples had been an important aspect of their lives. We know this from the shells that have been found on the ceremonial dresses of the First Nations who made their home on the Prairies. There, shells had been status symbols as they had to be brought from far away.

The masks of the Tsimshian show that the creativity of the carver rested not only on the image, but also on the ability to create moveable parts. The Raven mask on display has moveable eyes and a lower beak. Another object that shows the skill, the imagination and the artistic ability to interpret the Tsimshian belief in supernatural beings is a wooden Chief's Ceremonial Hat. Its basic shape is typical of the design used for hats by many of the West Coast peoples, usually woven from cedar fibers. On top of this wooden hat, however, sits a Supernatural Frog, a crest of the Raven clan. The carver then placed the face of a man on the bottom of the frog's lower jaw, which creates a very imposing effect on the onlooker.

There are three war clubs on view. The smallest and most simple in design is most likely made from a caribou antler. Similar clubs have been found at a 2,500-year-old archeological site in Tsimshian territory. The other two clubs are much larger and very intricately carved with three-dimensional animal and human faces that represent the warrior's ancestry and power. A soul catcher carved out of bone, once used by shamans, is also expertly carved with an animal (perhaps wolf) and human-like face. The belief had existed among the Tsimshian that the soul leaves a person's body when illness strikes and the shaman used such soul catchers to restore it to the patient.

The Grease Bowls in this exhibit show a variety of styles. Most are so permeated with oil (either from eulachon fish or seal oil), they are black and give the appearance of slate. It is interesting to note that one of the bowls shows the features of a European that may have been adopted as the crest of one or two Tsimshian lineages.

The beauty of two ladles made from mountain sheep horn show the skill the Tsimshian had to use heat and steam to shape these delicate looking, but very sturdy utilitarian objects. No small task, by any means. They certainly would even now make beautiful additions to any serious cook' s kitchen. Two combs of very different styles show that they were important objects to their owners.

The exhibit also includes Shaman Healing Figures, an impressive cedar chest made from a single piece of wood bent with steam that is also carved with fine traditional symmetrical designs, and several wooden clappers and feast dishes.

All in all there are 39 objects in this exhibit that are part of the Dundas Collection purchased from Sotheby's, New York, in October 2006 for more than $7 million. These items were purchased by a group of seven private buyers and three institutions committed to keeping the collection in Canada.

The original collector had been one Rev. Robert James Dundas, who worked in British Columbia, and was the first rector of St. John's Anglican Church in Victoria, the province's capital. He had seen the Tsimshian creations and wanted to take some of them with him to his home in Scotland. He commissioned another Anglican missionary, Rev. William Duncan, to obtain them for him. Duncan, who arrived five years earlier in the Tsimshian territory, had converted many of the Tsimshian to Christianity by 1862. In that year he moved with a large group of his followers to a new location to isolate them from their former way of life and cultural influence. This also meant that they had to relinquish their traditional regalia, and objects that were of the nature we can see in this exhibit. This allowed Duncan to sell many of their possessions to Dundas and other visitors to the area where his followers had settled. This, of course, begs a nagging question. Just how many other collections of this nature are hidden away somewhere in Europe or North America?