Statement about Becoming Worthy by Marika Swan

I come from a whaling community on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the heart of well-known Clayoquot Sound. I was born on the beach in the place where our people used to bring the whales in. When our people were whaling, they prepared their whole lives spiritually to be worthy of a gift as generous as a whale. Everyone in the community had to work in unity to ensure the hunt was safe and successful. Each whale was such a bountiful offering of food for the community and each part of the whale was utilized and celebrated.

As a Tla-o-qui-aht woman there are many gifts I am hoping to bring home to my community, and I understand that I am on a spiritual journey to lay the groundwork so that I am ready when they arrive. Pook-mis, the drowned whaler, lies at the bottom of the sea floor and offers a warning that things can go horribly wrong if you are not properly prepared.

Becoming Worthy is a part of a series of woodblock prints exploring my people’s natural and supernatural relationship with whales. Further prints in the series can be seen on my website marikaswan.com.