This first bronze casting was entitled Spirit of Haida Gwaii: The Black Canoe and is now displayed outside the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

[3][4] On 30 April 1996 Canada Post issued The Spirit of Haida Gwaii, 1986–1991, Bill Reid in the Masterpieces of Canadian art series.

The stamp was designed by Pierre-Yves Pelletier based on a sculpture Spirit of Haida Gwaii (1991) by Bill Reid in the Canadian Embassy, Washington, United States.

The canoe carries the following passengers: Raven, the traditional trickster of Haida mythology, holding the steering oar; Mouse Woman, crouched under Raven's tail; Grizzly Bear, sitting at the bow and staring toward Raven; Bear Mother, Grizzly's human wife; their cubs, Good Bear (ears pointed forward) and Bad Bear (ears pointed back); Beaver, Raven's uncle; Dogfish Woman; Eagle; Frog; Wolf, claws imbedded in Beaver's back and teeth in Eagle's wing; a small human paddler in Haida garb known as the Ancient Reluctant Conscript; and, at the sculpture's focal point, the human Shaman (or Kilstlaai in Haida), who wears the Haida cloak and woven spruce root hat and holds a tall staff carved with images of Seabear, Raven, and Killer Whale.

The variety and interdependence of the canoe's occupants represents the natural environment on which the ancient Haida relied for their very survival: the passengers are diverse, and not always in harmony, yet they must depend on one another to live.