When Catalans arrived at Vancouver Island, they found that Human prehistoric hunter-gatherers were living there.
With their giant cedar canoes propelled by up to forty rowers, they ventured into the ocean to hunt whales, which were their basic food.
They were sedentary and the metallurgy of metals was unknown to them, but they had an advanced culture.
Their clothes, their homes, their customs, and their art drew the attention of the Catalan expedition, since they were far beyond anything so far seen by them, in terms of quality and technology.
Maqüina, Nuu-chah-nulth Chief.
Tomas Suria. Pencil on paper, 1791.
The Humans of Vancouver were amazed at the arrival of large ships. They hid in the deep woods, but they soon sent their emissaries who established a great friendship with the Catalan volunteers.
As of that moment, the people of the Nuu-chah-nulth and the rest of the people of the First Nations of the current British Columbia maintained excellent relations with us.
Nowadays, their descendants are an important part of the residents of Canada, and its culture is admired and preserved.
We will ask the Government and those entities related to the indigenous culture of British Columbia to help us to bring the history and art of the peoples of the First Nations to all children and young people.
Xylography by Limmar. 1872. Indigenous peoples of Vancouver.
By doing so, we will be able to explain to our children how were the Human hunter-gatherers who inhabited Europe.
The tradition made us assume that they were primitive people who hunted with stones. The recent discovery of the mummy of the man of Ötzi in the Alps, dating from 3000 years ago, revealed that prehistoric Europeans Humans had sophisticated technologies.
Getting to know the culture of the native peoples of Vancouver, will help us to understand how was the existence of those Humans living on the lake of Banyoles (Girona), of those who worked in the mines of Gava (Barcelona), and of the hunter-gatherer peoples of L’Espluga de Francoli or Ulldecona (Tarragona).
The archaeologists are excavating their ancient settlements and every year vestiges of its past emerge. Not much remains from them, but they deserve our admiration because they are our ancestors.
We are confident that children and young people will admire the art of the indigenous people of Canada. Furthermore, many will travel to Vancouver to learn about the wonders of that paradise.
