Stolen Spirits of Haida Gwaii

After disease forced the Haida to abandon some 35 of their ancient villages, their islands became a paradise for the relic hunters of the early 20th century, eager for the totem poles and masks coveted by museums around the world.

Unknown to the Haida at the time, these adventurers also dug up graves and looted mortuary poles, carrying off hundreds of skeletons for a bizarre and ultimately futile scientific pursuit.

It wasn't until the early 1990s that young people from Haida Gwaii learned the remains of their ancestors — along with more than 100,000 from other tribes — were sitting in museum basements. Once they found out, they decided to act.

Stolen Spirits of Haida Gwaii follows the Haida through the process of relearning their culture, on a journey that takes them to Chicago and, ultimately, toward reconciliation with the descendants of the scientists who robbed their islands' graves a century earlier.