This Was the Time (1970)

This Was the Time

1970

Documentary

Synopsis

When Masset, a Haida village in Haida Gwaii (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands), held a potlatch, it seemed as if the past grandeur of the people had returned. This is a colourful recreation of Indigenous life that faded more than two generations ago when the great totems were toppled by the missionaries and the costly potlatch was forbidden by law. The film shows how one village lived again the old glory, with singing, dancing, feasting, and the raising of a towering totem as a lasting reminder of what once was.

Credits

Director

Eugene Boyko

Cast

Florence Davidson as Self (uncredited)

James Carney as Narrator

Reg Davidson as Self (uncredited)

Robert Davidson as Self (uncredited)

Robert Davidson Sr. as Self (uncredited)

Crew

Eugene Boyko (Director of Photography)

Jacques Bensimon (Editor)