One Beat in the Infinite Heart of Haida Gwaii

Abstract

The authors begin this essay with these remarks: "There’s a phrase in X̱aayda Kil, the Skidegate dialect of the Haida language, that describes the horizon when you can’t tell where the ocean ends and the sky begins: 'Ḵuuya ḵaagan ad siigaay G̱ud gii ts’ahlsgiidan Sky and sea glued together.' Which is to say that the distinction between even the most immutable of boundaries can be blurred. As we approach the tipping point to catastrophic climate change and the world sits precariously at the edge of a potential shift away from respectful co-existence towards intolerance, what lessons can the examination of these liminal spaces offer us? For decades, people have looked to Haida Gwaii for some of these lessons."