Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1105981
i tourismvancouver.com | 13 Museum of Anthropology Discover First Nations heritage TANYA GOEHRING (MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY), RUTH HARTNUP/FLICKR (SALMON N' BANNOCK BISTRO), TVAN/SKWACHAYS LODGE/CRAIG MINIELLY/AURA PHOTOGRAPHICS (SKWACHÀYS LODGE) SEE The totem poles in Stanley Park are examples of visual language and an alluring entry point to First Nations culture. If that whets your appetite, the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia offers an immersive look at Northwest Coast First Nations the moment you enter the Great Hall. See preserved treasures from Coast Salish, Gitxsan, Nisga'a, Haida and Kwakwaka'wakw peoples in addition to Indigenous art and craftsmanship from around the world. If you find yourself downtown, visit the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coastal Art, the only public gallery in Canada dedicated to contemporary Indigenous Northwest Coast Art. Here, see Reid's 8.5-metre bronze Mythic Messengers. EXPERIENCE For a history lesson on the Tsleil-Wau- tuth First Nation, paddle Indian Arm in a 25-foot canoe with Takaya Tours. Or take a Talking Trees Tour in Stanley Park with Talaysay Tours. EAT Salmon n' Bannock Bistro honours First Nations foods like bannock bread with cedar jelly and candied wild salmon. Bigheart Bannock Cultural Café, housed in Skwachàys Lodge is best known for its weekend brunch flavoured with wild rainforest ingredients such as soapberries and spruce tips. SHOP Coastal Peoples Fine Arts Gallery in Gastown sells museum-quality pieces such as Isabel Rorick's spruce root Frog Basket. In North Vancouver visit Khot-La-Cha Art Gallery & Gift Shop to find contemporary eagle-motif bags by Corrine Hunt (she co-designed the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games medals). STAY Bed down at Skwachàys Lodge, an aboriginal boutique hotel featuring the Urban Aboriginal Fair Trade Gallery and a sweat lodge. Its 18 suites each tell a cultural story, such as the Moon Suite, which explores the relationship between the Moon and Raven, a trickster god. CELEBRATE Join in festivities at locations around the region on National Aboriginal Day, June 21. Witness authentic First Nations theatre, dance, music and spoken word at the Talking Stick Festival in February. GO DEEPER: For more on Indigenous tourism, visit indigenousbc.com EXPLORE MORE: Visit the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre in Whistler to see the 40-foot-long Salish hunting canoe, named Nexws Chachu7. M ore than 200 distinct First Nations continue to make their homes in the land we now call British Columbia. Their art, languages, cuisine and proud traditions are very much in evidence in the city today – indeed, from the moment you step off the plane at Vancouver International Airport, you can admire Indigenous works including the Jade Canoe, considered the finest masterpiece of Haida artist Bill Reid. } A T T R A C T I O N S Salmon n' Bannock Bistro Skwachàys Lodge