It’s in the spring when nature comes alive. So too in places like Bella Bella, the First Nations culture comes alive as well. The culture of the people of Bella Bella is intertwined with the rhythms of nature in an intricate weave. As the cycles of nature turn each year, the cultural mores of these ancient people go through their annual transitions. Like some inner metronome is setting the timing, spring brings on one of the cultural necessities of Bella Bella on the central coast of British Columbia. It’s herring season.
Each year huge schools of herring gather in the shallows all around the islands near Bella Bella. An ancient food source, when the herring arrive it’s time to fish. It’s not a task that’s taken on so much as work; rather it is an annual ritual that’s approached with eager anticipation by the entire village. Nets and gear are prepared. Fishing boats and skiffs are readied. The women and children are visibly excited at the prospect of the annual supply of herring eggs. The village has a tingle of excitement to it as the inevitable herring fishing days approach. In modern times the Department of Fisheries will announce when the fishing may begin. I can tell you from personal experience though that no Fisheries Officer need tell these people when the herring are in or where they are. There isn’t a March or April that goes by, no matter where I am, that I don’t know deep in my being that “It’s herring season.” Simply by living with these people for those few years in the late ‘70’s, I’ve picked up the seasonal rhythm in the very recesses of my soul.
My painting of Herring Season speaks of that eagerness and energy of the village. My vantage point, looking past the southern little tip of Martins Island, shows a herring skiff leaving the village to head for the open ocean islands probably at ten in the evening. There’s no time to wait. Whoever is steering that skiff is someone who couldn’t ignore the call from within. No matter the time, he’s got to be there now. He’s going HERRING FISHING.
