Hello, my name is Garett Pratt. I was born and raised in the northern hub city of Prince George, B.C., but Bella Coola, B.C. is where I call home. There is a big difference between where you are born, where you are raised, and where you truly feel at home. Bella Coola is home.
For the family, the open arms and hearts, the welcoming homes, welcoming tables, and welcoming ceremonies where cultural dancing and feasts take place-this is home. This is my ancestral homeland. My mom was born and raised here.
There wasn’t a road into this community until 1953, so at the time of my mother’s birth there was no access to Bella Coola other than by water.
The first passageways that led up this treacherous mountain were original trading routes, used long before my mother’s time. This is where our people traded ooligan grease. This product was an essential item, as the preserved fat helped people survive the winter months when hunting and fishing were less abundant.
The passage was named after its prime purpose: the Ooligan Grease Trail. Once explorers arrived, they renamed it the Alexander Mackenzie Trail.
This path up the mountain was an essential means of trade and travel. Once it was finally developed into a formal access route, it became what we now call a highway. The highway that leads to Bella Coola-Highway 20, also known as the Freedom Road-follows this historic route.
There is a section of this highway that takes you through a very treacherous mountain pass called Heckman Pass. This section, along with a large stretch before it, is all gravel. Once you reach the top of the hill, there are gates. The descent down Heckman Pass has an 18% grade that continues for 21 kilometers.
There are no runaway lanes. It takes bravery and guts to stomach the descent, especially if it’s your first time.
Over the years, the hill has improved. Time and time again the roadway has been widened, though in many spots vehicles are reduced to a single lane. In some areas, drivers must back up to allow others to pass. The biggest relief when reaching the bottom of the hill is the breath of fresh air. There is no other air I have breathed that matches its quality. It is so moist and so fresh-unlike anything else you’ll ever enjoy. If you come down the hill with the correct skills, this beautiful fresh air shouldn’t smell like hot brakes. But for many first-time travelers, it does.
When I finally get home, with all the loving hugs and catching up on conversations, I still don’t truly feel settled until I visit specific places that speak to my spirit.
The first and most powerful calling is the rock carvings. They are reached by a beautiful hike, but it’s not always a quick relief-it usually requires organizing a small hike.
The second option is truly the end of the line, where Highway 20 comes to an end: the ocean. This quick drive to the waterfront gives me an immediate sense of being home-seeing the ocean, smelling the ocean, and feeling the moist breeze. Clayton Falls is the destination. The waterfalls are beautiful, and there is a picnic area and fire pits there. I have many childhood memories from this place— birthday BBQs and spontaneous detours just for fun.
The image I created was inspired by something I witnessed one day on my way to this location. After a quick stop at the wharf in Bella Coola to take in my first breath of ocean air, I began to pull away and noticed a seal quickly exiting the water and climbing onto the tide break. This is a man-made structure built of large rocks to protect the wharf and the boats from fierce tidal action.
I stopped and got out of my vehicle to see what was happening. This didn’t seem like a comfortable place for a seal to rest. As I watched, I noticed something dark moving in the water. I didn’t see a dorsal fin, but in my mind I was sure of what I had witnessed.
I checked for my phone but didn’t have it with me—| had left it where I was staying. Cell service doesn’t work well in this region. As I scanned the water and my surroundings, I heard what sounded like a whale surfacing and exhaling. I watched for a short while longer, but nothing reappeared.
I had to leave, as I was expected at my family’s home for a delicious, loving dinner.
When I arrived and shared what I had seen, I was told, “We don’t have killer whales in here… well, we haven’t in ages.”
Since then, family members have told me that more and more sightings are being talked about. Another thing that has returned to our waters is the ooligan. For years, our rivers had gone dry of their return.