Alert Bay, British Columbia, Canada / Turtle Ilsand
On September 5th 1987, eighteen Ainu arrived in Alert Bay on a trip organised by the board of education of Biratori in Hokkaido, Japan. Described by the ’Namgis Kwakwaka’wakw as the Bak’wam of Japan, they were welcomed into the houses of U’Mista Cultural Society members and exchanged gifts over a dinner in the Big House.
The following day, the Ainu were taken out on ’Namgis fishing boats to see the surrounding waters. Leaving on the morning of the 7th, the Ainu visitors would travel onwards to Victoria and Banff.
This visit solidified a relationship between the Ainu and ’Namgis peoples. The Nibutani Ainu Museum and U’Mista Cultural Society declared themselves sister-organisations, and after returning home, the Ainu sent a warm letter to Alert Bay from Hokkaido signed by fourteen of the delegates. Ainu language activist Kayano Shiro later described the trip as helping him realise that the Ainu language was not in as dire a situation as he had first feared. This realisation prompted him to leave his regular job and start working at the Ainu language education centre in Nibutani.
Sources
U’Mista Cultural Centre Newsletter, September (1987). The Ainu. Pg. 6. Accessed through U’Mista Archive.
U’Mista Cultural Centre Newsletter, January (1988). Good News. Pg. 3. Accessed through U’Mista Archive.