Editor,

On a rainy Saturday, March 21, some 200 people filled The Clyde Theatre in Langley to see a 1914 silent film entitled “In the Land of the Head Hunters.”

This incredible film, created by Edward S. Curtis, was released in 1914 to rave reviews in Seattle and New York, but soon disappeared and was actually rescued from a dumpster in 1947. While the storyline of the film is pretty weak overall, the images of Native Kwa-Kwa-Ka’Wakw Indian actors in their aboriginal clothing of cedar bark and animal skins, the carved masks, elaborate longhouses, canoes, etc. allow us a brief glimpse into the past of a culture that was thriving on this part of the planet for thousands of years before the first “explorers” began their adventures in the “New World.” We should all tip our hats and offer a hearty thank you to the memory of Mr. Curtis for his fine and dedicated work.

Also, thank you to Blake and Lynn Willeford for caring for the Clyde, and for providing us with a perfect venue. Seeing this old movie in a such wonderful old theatre made it even better.

This special showing was to celebrate the opening of the new Native People – Native Places exhibit at the Island County Museum in Coupeville. We hope you will pay us a visit to learn more about the “first settlers” of our region.

RICK CASTELLANO,

executive director

Historical Society Museum