Haida Gwaii
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Haida Gwaii (; hai, X̱aaydag̱a Gwaay.yaay / , literally "Islands of the
Haida people Haida (, hai, X̱aayda, , , ) are an indigenous group who have traditionally occupied , an archipelago just off the coast of British Columbia, Canada, for at least 12,500 years. The Haida are known for their craftsmanship, trading skills, and ...
") is an
archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...
located between off the northern Pacific coast of Canada. The islands are separated from the mainland to the east by the shallow
Hecate Strait , image = HecateStrait(PittIsland).JPG , image_size = 260px , alt = , caption = Hecate Strait and Pitt Island , image_bathymetry = Loc-QCS-Hecate-Dixon.png , alt_bathymetry = , caption ...
. Queen Charlotte Sound lies to the south, with
Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...
beyond. To the north, the disputed
Dixon Entrance The Dixon Entrance (french: Entrée Dixon) is a strait about long and wide in the Pacific Ocean at the Canada–United States border, between the U.S. state of Alaska and the province of British Columbia in Canada. The Dixon Entrance is part o ...
separates Haida Gwaii from the
Alexander Archipelago The Alexander Archipelago (russian: Архипелаг Александра) is a long archipelago (group of islands) in North America lying off the southeastern coast of Alaska. It contains about 1,100 islands, the tops of submerged coastal m ...
in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
. Haida Gwaii consists of two main islands:
Graham Island Graham Island () is the largest island in the Haida Gwaii archipelago (previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands), lying off the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is separated by the narrow Skidegate Channel from the other pr ...
() in the north and
Moresby Island Moresby Island ( hai, Gwaii Haanas) is a large island () that forms part of the Haida Gwaii archipelago (formerly known as Queen Charlotte Islands) in British Columbia, Canada, located at . It is separated by the narrow Skidegate Channel from ...
(, literally: south people island half, or "Islands of Beauty") in the south, along with approximately 400 smaller islands with a total landmass of . Other major islands include Anthony Island ( / ), Burnaby Island (), Lyell Island, Louise Island, Alder Island ( / ), and
Kunghit Island Kunghit Island is an island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the southernmost island in the Haida Gwaii archipelago, located to the south of Moresby Island. The southernmost point of Kunghit Island, called Cape St James, is use ...
. (For a fuller, but still incomplete, list see
List of islands of British Columbia This is a list of islands of British Columbia. South Coast Vancouver Island *Vancouver Island Gulf of Georgia Gulf Islands =Southern Gulf Islands= *Brethour Island * Cabbage Island * Curlew Island * De Courcy Islands ** Mudge Island **Lin ...
.) Part of the Canadian province of
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, the islands were known from 1787 until 2010 as the Queen Charlotte Islands, and colloquially as "the Charlottes". On June 3, 2010, the ''Haida Gwaii Reconciliation Act'' formally renamed the archipelago as part of the Kunst'aa guu – Kunst'aayah Reconciliation Protocol between British Columbia and the Haida people. The islands form the heartland of the Haida Nation, upon which people have lived for 13,000 years, and who currently make up approximately half of the population. The Haida exercise their sovereignty over the islands through their acting government, the
Council of the Haida Nation The Council of the Haida Nation ("CHN") (''X̱aaydaG̱a Waadlux̱an Naay'') is the elected government of the Haida Nation. The council consists of a president and vice-president elected by popular vote, twelve regional representatives from four ele ...
(CHN, ). As recently as 2015, the Haida Nation hosted
First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...
delegations such as the potlatch and subsequent
treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations An international organization or international o ...
signing between the Haida and
Heiltsuk Nation The Heiltsuk Nation is a First Nations government in the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, centred on Campbell Island in the community of Bella Bella, British Columbia. The Heiltsuk people speak the Heiltsuk l ...
. A small number of
Kaigani Haida Haida (, hai, X̱aayda, , , ) are an indigenous group who have traditionally occupied , an archipelago just off the coast of British Columbia, Canada, for at least 12,500 years. The Haida are known for their craftsmanship, trading skills, and ...
also live on the traditionally
Tlingit The Tlingit ( or ; also spelled Tlinkit) are indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their language is the Tlingit language (natively , pronounced ),
Prince of Wales Island in Alaska. Some of the islands are protected under federal legislation as the
Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area, and Haida Heritage Site, usually referred to simply as Gwaii Haanas (), is located in southernmost Haida Gwaii (formerly known as Queen Charlotte Islands), off the mainland of ...
, which includes the southernmost part of Moresby Island and several adjoining islands and islets. Coastal temperate rain forest at the shore, the preserve also includes the San Christoval Mountains. Facilities are minimal and access is via boat or seaplane. Also protected, but under provincial jurisdiction, are several provincial parks, the largest of which is
Naikoon Provincial Park Naikoon Provincial Park is a provincial park on northeastern Graham Island in the Haida Gwaii archipelago, British Columbia, Canada. It is the ancestral home of the Gwak'rala'chala people, one of the many tribes that form the native group Haida pe ...
on northeastern Graham Island. The islands are home to an abundance of wildlife, including the largest subspecies of black bear ('' Ursus americanus carlottae'') and also the smallest subspecies of ermine, the
Haida ermine The Haida ermine (''Mustela haidarum'') is a mustelid species endemic to a few islands off the Pacific Northwest of North America, namely Haida Gwaii in Canada and the southern Alexander Archipelago in the U.S. state of Alaska. Indigenous names ...
(''Mustela haidarum haidarum''), which is also partially
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to the islands.
Black-tailed deer Two forms of black-tailed deer or blacktail deer that occupy coastal woodlands in the Pacific Northwest of North America are subspecies of the mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus''). They have sometimes been treated as a species, but virtually all r ...
and
raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...
are
introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...
that have become abundant.


Transportation

There is no public transportation on Haida Gwaii. Taxis and car rentals are available, and shuttles can be arranged. The primary transportation links between the Islands and mainland British Columbia are through the
Sandspit Airport Sandspit Airport is located northeast of Sandspit, British Columbia, Sandspit, British Columbia, Canada. Douglas DC-4 crash On January 19, 1952, a Douglas DC-4 on Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 324 attempted to land at Sandspit Airport due ...
, the
Masset Airport Masset Airport is located northeast of Masset, British Columbia, Canada. In 2008 the airport began services using a 737 jet. History The airport was constructed in July 1943 as RCAF Station Masset. It was built by the RCAF's No. 9 Constructio ...
and the
BC Ferries British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, publicly owned Canadian company. BC Ferries provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry ...
terminal at
Skidegate Skidegate ( hai, Hlg̱aagilda) is a Haida community in in British Columbia, Canada. It is located on the southeast coast of Graham Island, the largest island in the archipelago, and is approximately west of mainland British Columbia across Hec ...
. The westernmost leg of
Highway 16 Route 16, or Highway 16, can refer to: International * Asian Highway 16 * European route E16 * European route E016 Australia  - Thompsons Road (Victoria)     - South Australia Canada ;Parts of the Trans-Canada Highway: *Yellowhead Hi ...
connects
Masset Masset , formerly ''Massett'', is a village in Haida Gwaii in British Columbia, Canada. It is located on Masset Sound on the northern coast of Graham Island, the largest island in the archipelago, and is approximately west of mainland British Col ...
and Skidegate on Graham Island, and Skidegate with
Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...
on the mainland via regular BC Ferries service by the MV ''Northern Adventure''. Reservations are strongly recommended for the ferry. There is also regular BC Ferries service between Skidegate and Alliford Bay on Moresby Island. Floatplane services connect to facilities such as the
Alliford Bay Water Aerodrome Alliford Bay Water Aerodrome is located on Alliford Bay, British Columbia, Canada. Alliford Bay is a part of Skidegate Inlet, Moresby Island in the Haida Gwaii Islands. See also *Sandspit Airport Sandspit Airport is located northeast of San ...
and
Masset Water Aerodrome Masset Water Aerodrome is located adjacent to Masset, British Columbia, Canada. Airlines and destinations See also *Masset Airport Masset Airport is located northeast of Masset, British Columbia, Canada. In 2008 the airport began services ...
. There are of highway on Graham Island. On Moresby, only of paved road line the coast.


Economy

The economy is mixed, including art and natural resources, primarily
logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...
and
commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...
. Furthermore, service industries and government jobs provide about one-third of the jobs, and tourism has become a more prominent part of the economy in recent years, especially for fishing and
tour guide A tour guide (U.S.) or a tourist guide (European) is a person who provides assistance, information on cultural, historical and contemporary heritage to people on organized sightseeing and individual clients at educational establishments, religio ...
s, cycling, camping, and
adventure tourism Adventure travel is a type of niche tourism, involving exploration or travel with a certain degree of risk (real or perceived), and which may require special skills and physical exertion. In the United States, adventure tourism has grown in r ...
. Aboriginal culture tourism has been enhanced with the establishment of the
Haida Heritage Centre The Haida Heritage Centre is the premier cultural centre and museum of the Haida people. It is located in Skidegate, a community on Graham Island in Haida Gwaii off the Pacific coast of British Columbia, Canada. The centre is situated just south o ...
at Kaay Ilnygaay.


Education

Public education is provided through School District 50 Haida Gwaii, which operates elementary and secondary schools in Masset,
Port Clements Port Clements is an incorporated village situated at the east end of Masset Inlet in Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands) off the coast of the Province of British Columbia in Canada. Known as Gamadiis in HlG̱aagilda X̱aayda ki ...
,
Daajing Giids (), known as Queen Charlotte from 1891–2022, is a village municipality in the Haida Gwaii archipelago (also known as the "Queen Charlotte Islands") in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is located on the southern end of Graham Is ...
(formerly called Queen Charlotte), Sandspit, and Skidegate. Higher education programs are offered at the Haida Heritage Centre in partnership with
Coast Mountain College Coast Mountain College (CMTN) is an accredited, publicly-funded post-secondary educational institution that serves the communities of British Columbia's northwest region. CMTN offers field schools, college access, trades, university credit, healt ...
,
University of Northern British Columbia The University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) is a small, research-intensive public university in British Columbia, Canada. The main campus is located in Prince George, with additional campuses located in Prince Rupert, Terrace, Quesnel, and ...
, and with the Haida Gwaii Higher Education Society.


Health care

Publicly funded health services are provided by
Northern Health Northern Health is the publicly funded healthcare provider for the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Northern Health serves over 300,000 people in an area of 600,000 square kilometres. It was established as one of five g ...
, the regional health authority responsible for the northern half of the province. Haida Gwaii is served by two hospitals, The Northern Haida Gwaii Hospital and Health Centre in Masset and the Haida Gwaii Hospital in Daajing Giids which was completed in fall 2015. Haida Gwaii has four British Columbia Ambulance stations. They are staffed by approximately 36 casual emergency medical responders (EMR), and one part-time community paramedic based in Masset.


Population

At the time of European contact in 1774, the population was roughly 30,000 people, residing in several towns and including slave populations drawn from other clans of Haida as well as from other nations. It is estimated that ninety percent of the population died during the 1800s from
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
alone; other diseases arrived as well, including
typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...
,
measles Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...
, and
syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, an ...
, affecting many more inhabitants. The
1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic Year 186 ( CLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Glabrio (or, less frequently, year 939 ''Ab urbe con ...
alone killed over 70% of the Haida people. By 1900, only 350 people remained. Towns were abandoned as people left their homes for the towns of Skidegate and Masset, for cannery towns on the mainland, or for Vancouver Island. Today, around 4,500 people live on the islands. About 70% of the indigenous people (Haida) live in two communities at
Skidegate Skidegate ( hai, Hlg̱aagilda) is a Haida community in in British Columbia, Canada. It is located on the southeast coast of Graham Island, the largest island in the archipelago, and is approximately west of mainland British Columbia across Hec ...
and
Old Massett Old Massett, named G̱aw in X̱aad kíl, is an Indigenous Canadian village on Graham Island in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia. It lies on the east side of Masset Sound close to the town of Masset; the area of land it is on is legally designated M ...
, with a population of about 700 each. In total the Haida make up 45% of the population of the islands. Anthony Island and the
Ninstints SG̱ang Gwaay Llanagaay ("Red Cod Island"), commonly known by its English name Ninstints, is a village site of the Haida people and part of the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site on Haida Gwaii on the North Coast of Bri ...
Haida village site were made a
UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
in 2006; in the decision, the decline in population wrought by disease was referenced when citing the 'vanished civilization' of the Haida.


History

Haida Gwaii is considered by archaeologists as an option for a Pacific coastal route taken by the first humans migrating to the Americas from the Bering Strait. At this time Haida Gwaii was likely not an island, but connected to Vancouver Island and the mainland via the now-submerged continental shelf. It is unclear how people arrived on Haida Gwaii, but archaeological sites have established human habitation on the islands as far back as 13,000 years ago. Populations that formerly inhabited
Beringia Beringia is defined today as the land and maritime area bounded on the west by the Lena River in Russia; on the east by the Mackenzie River in Canada; on the north by 72 degrees north latitude in the Chukchi Sea; and on the south by the tip ...
expanded into northern North America after the
Last Glacial Maximum The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), also referred to as the Late Glacial Maximum, was the most recent time during the Last Glacial Period that ice sheets were at their greatest extent. Ice sheets covered much of Northern North America, Northern Eur ...
, and gave rise to Eskimo-Aleuts and
Na-Dené Na-Dene (; also Nadene, Na-Dené, Athabaskan–Eyak–Tlingit, Tlina–Dene) is a family of Native American languages that includes at least the Athabaskan languages, Eyak, and Tlingit languages. Haida was formerly included, but is now considere ...
Indians. Although unsubstantiated, an
oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985 ...
told by the Haida Chief, Albert Edward Edenshaw, says that the Haida came from northern Alaska and travelled to Haida Gwaii in search of new territory. Underwater archaeologists from the University of Victoria are seeking to confirm that stone structures discovered in 2014 on the seabed of Hecate Strait may date back 13,700 or more years ago and be the earliest known signs of human habitation in Canada. Coastal sites of this era are now deep underwater.


Pre-colonial era

The coastal migration hypothesis of the
settlement of the Americas The settlement of the Americas began when Paleolithic hunter-gatherers entered North America from the North Asian Mammoth steppe via the Beringia land bridge, which had formed between northeastern Siberia and western Alaska due to the lowering o ...
suggests that the first North Americans may have been here as the oldest human remains known from Alaska or Canada are from
On Your Knees Cave On Your Knees Cave (49-PET-408) is an archaeological site located in southeastern Alaska ( Prince of Wales Island). Human remains were found at the site in 1996 that dated between 9,730 ±60 and 9,880±50 radiocarbon YBP (Years Before Present) or ...
. Anthropologists have found striking parallels between the myths, rituals, and dwelling types of the
Koryaks Koryaks () are an indigenous people of the Russian Far East, who live immediately north of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Kamchatka Krai and inhabit the coastlands of the Bering Sea. The cultural borders of the Koryaks include Tigilsk in the sou ...
—inhabitants of the
Kamchatka Peninsula The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and we ...
—and those of the native peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. At this time the island was twice as large as today. There is strong genetic evidence for these early people having an origin there. The Koryaks were a matrilineal seafaring people hunting whales and other marine mammals. Kujkynnjaku, the Raven, is their primary deity. Most of the Raven myths are similar to those of the Koryak. The group of people inhabiting these Islands developed a culture made rich by the abundance of the land and sea. These people became the Haida. The Haida are a linguistically-distinct group, and they have a complex class and rank system consisting of two main clans, the Eagles and Ravens. Links and diversity within the Haida Nation were gained through a cross lineal marriage system between the clans. This system was also important for the transfer of wealth within the Nation, with each clan reliant on the other for the building of longhouses, the carving of totem poles and other items of cultural importance. Noted seafarers, the Haida occupied more than 100 villages throughout the Islands. The Haida were skilled traders, with established trade links with their neighbouring First Nations on the mainland to California. The Haida people regularly took slaves from their wars with other peoples around them.


Colonial era

The archipelago was first sighted by
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
ans in 1774 by Juan Pérez, at Langara Island, and in 1778 by
James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
. In 1794, the Haida captured and sank a pair of European vessels, ''Ino'' and ''Resolution'', that were seeking to trade for sea otter pelts. Most of the ships' crew were killed. In 1851, the Haida captured the ''Georgiana'', a ship carrying gold prospectors, and held its crew for ransom for nearly two months. The islands played an important role during the
maritime fur trade The maritime fur trade was a ship-based fur trade system that focused on acquiring furs of sea otters and other animals from the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and natives of Alaska. The furs were mostly sold in China in ex ...
era of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. During most of that era the trade in the islands was dominated by Americans. The
Oregon Treaty The Oregon Treaty is a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States that was signed on June 15, 1846, in Washington, D.C. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundary dispute by settling competing American and British claims to t ...
of 1846 put an end to American claims to the islands. Following the discovery of gold in the 1850s the British made efforts to exclude whatever American territorial claims might remain. The
Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands The Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands was a British colony constituting the archipelago of the same name from 1853 to 1858, when it was amalgamated into the Colony of British Columbia. In 2010 the archipelago was renamed Haida Gwaii. The ...
was a
British colony The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former Bri ...
created by the Colonial Office in response to the increase in American marine trading activity resulting from the gold rush on Moresby Island in 1851. No separate administration or capital for the colony was ever established, as its only officer or appointee was James Douglas, who was simultaneously
Governor of Vancouver Island The following is a list of governors of the Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia. See also * List of lieutenant governors of British Columbia *Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands The Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands was ...
. In essence, the colony was merged with the Vancouver Island colony for administrative purposes from the 1850s to 1866 when the
Colony of Vancouver Island The Colony of Vancouver Island, officially known as the Island of Vancouver and its Dependencies, was a Crown colony of British North America from 1849 to 1866, after which it was united with the mainland to form the Colony of British Columbia. ...
was merged with the mainland, which until that point was the separate
Colony of British Columbia The Colony of British Columbia refers to one of two colonies of British North America, located on the Pacific coast of modern-day Canada: *Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) *Colony of British Columbia (1866–1871) See also *History of Br ...
.


Naming

In 1787 Captain George Dixon surveyed the islands. He named the islands the Queen Charlotte Islands after his ship, the ''
Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...
'', which was named after
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...
, wife of King
George III of the United Kingdom George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until Acts of Union 1800, the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was ...
. Another name, "Washington's Isles," was commonly used by American traders, who frequented the islands in the days of the
marine fur trade The maritime fur trade was a ship-based fur trade system that focused on acquiring furs of sea otters and other animals from the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and natives of Alaska. The furs were mostly sold in China in ...
and considered the islands part of the US-claimed
Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been created by the Treaty of 1818, co ...
. Following the 1846
Oregon Treaty The Oregon Treaty is a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States that was signed on June 15, 1846, in Washington, D.C. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundary dispute by settling competing American and British claims to t ...
, which established the current international borders and made the islands definitively part of Canada, the "Queen Charlotte Islands" name became official. On December 11, 2009, the British Columbia government announced that legislation would be introduced in mid-2010 to officially rename the Queen Charlotte Islands to the new name "Haida Gwaii". The legislation received
royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...
on June 3, 2010, formalizing the name change. At an official Giving Back the Name ceremony, the name, written on a piece of paper and placed in a bentwood box, was handed to the premier of British Columbia. This name change is officially recognized by all levels of Canadian governments, and also by the United States'
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is a combat support agency within the United States Department of Defense whose primary mission is collecting, analyzing, and distributing geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) in support of national ...
name database. The name ' is a modern coinage and was created in the early 1980s as an alternative to the colonial-era name "Queen Charlotte Islands", to recognize the history of the Haida people. "Haida Gwaii" means "islands of the people", while ' on its own means not only "us" but also "people". Still in use is the older name ' or, in alternative
orthography An orthography is a set of conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, word breaks, emphasis, and punctuation. Most transnational languages in the modern period have a writing system, and mos ...
, ', meaning "islands at the boundary of the world". ' ("worlds") refers here to the sea and sky.


Environment

Research by
Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...
concludes that Haida Gwaii around 55,000 BCE was likely covered with
tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless moun ...
and low meadows that were populated by grazing mammals including
caribou Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...
and
mammoth A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks and, ...
s. Although no mammoth or mastodon fossils were found, the research discovered dung-eating fungi underground in ancient peat by the Cape Ball site in Naikoon Provincial Park on Graham Island. The tundra-like landscape then evolved to a mix of alpine forest and meadows. The last
Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
glaciation A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...
receded from the archipelago about 16,000 BCE, about 2,000 years earlier than the rest of the British Columbia Coast's ice age. That, and its subsequent isolation from the mainland, encouraged Haida indigenous and environmental activists in the 1970s to use the term " Galápagos of the North", a unique biocultural zone with many endemic plants and animals. The climate of this temperate north hemisphere forested region, like that of much of the British Columbia and Alaskan coast in the area, is moderated by the
North Pacific Current The North Pacific Current (sometimes referred to as the North Pacific Drift) is a slow warm water current that flows west-to-east between 30 and 50 degrees north in the Pacific Ocean. The current forms the southern part of the North Pacific Su ...
, with heavy rainfall and relatively mild temperatures throughout the year. The islands are home to the Ta'an Forest, with a wide variety of large endemic trees, including the Sitka spruce,
western red cedar ''Thuja plicata'' is an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to western North America. Its common name is western redcedar (western red cedar in the UK), and it is also called Pacific redcedar, giant arborvitae ...
,
yellow cedar Yellow cedar is a common name for several trees and may refer to: *''Cupressus nootkatensis'', native to northwestern North America *' *''Thuja occidentalis ''Thuja occidentalis'', also known as northern white-cedar, eastern white-cedar, or arbo ...
(
Nootka cypress ''Callitropsis nootkatensis'', formerly known as ''Cupressus nootkatensis'' ( syn. ''Xanthocyparis nootkatensis'') is a species of trees in the cypress family native to the coastal regions of northwestern North America. This species goes by many ...
),
shore pine ''Pinus contorta'', with the common names lodgepole pine and shore pine, and also known as twisted pine, and contorta pine, is a common tree in western North America. It is common near the ocean shore and in dry montane forests to the subalpine, ...
,
western hemlock ''Tsuga heterophylla'', the western hemlock or western hemlock-spruce, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, with its northwestern limit on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and its southeastern limit in northern Sonoma ...
,
mountain hemlock ''Tsuga mertensiana'', known as mountain hemlock, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, found between Southcentral Alaska and south-central California. Description ''Tsuga mertensiana'' is a large evergreen conifer ...
,
western yew ''Taxus brevifolia'', the Pacific yew or western yew, is a species of tree in the yew family Taxaceae native to the Pacific Northwest of North America. It is a small evergreen conifer, thriving in moisture and otherwise tending to take the form ...
and
red alder ''Alnus rubra'', the red alder, is a deciduous broadleaf tree native to western North America (Alaska, Yukon, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Montana). Description Red alder is the largest species of alder in Nort ...
. The ''Flora of the Queen Charlotte Islands'' describes plants from the islands. Soils are variable.
Peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...
is common in poorly drained flats and even on sloping ground in the wetter areas. Where drainage is good, the mature soils are
podzols In soil science, podzols are the typical soils of coniferous or boreal forests and also the typical soils of eucalypt forests and heathlands in southern Australia. In Western Europe, podzols develop on heathland, which is often a construct of huma ...
that have classic development (well defined eluvial horizon, Ae under Canadian classification) in undisturbed areas. A history of disturbance, as from logging or windthrow, sees the Ae mixed with other horizons and only patchily visible. Kiidk'yaas (Golden Spruce), a naturally occurring genetic-variant yellow-colour Sitka spruce tree, was near the
Yakoun River The Yakoun River is the largest river on Haida Gwaii, off the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Estimated to be in length, it is located on Graham Island, the northernmost and largest of the archipelago, and runs in a twisting course genera ...
, the largest on Graham Island. It was a popular tourist attraction until it was illegally cut down in 1997 as a protest against the industrial logging practices. From the spring of 1996 until November 30, 1997, a popular attraction for tourists to the islands was a male albino white raven. He lived around Port Clements and would commonly be seen taking food handouts from locals and visitors alike. He died after making contact with an electrical transformer. The white raven was preserved by former Port Clements residents, taxidermists Roger Britten Sr. and Jr., and is on display in the Port Clements Historical Society's museum.


Climate

The climate is
oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...
('' Cfb''), except near the summit of
Mount Moresby Mount Moresby is the highest mountain of the Queen Charlotte Mountains located south of Daajing Giids (formerly Queen Charlotte) on Moresby Island in British Columbia, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces an ...
where the climate is subpolar oceanic (''Cfc''). It is very similar to the climate of the west coast of
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
in terms of average temperatures and total year-round precipitation, but the latitude is lower than the west coast of Scotland; it is 52° 39', the same as southern
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. In the relatively shielded areas around
Tlell Tlell is a small, unincorporated area on the east coast of Graham Island, which is part of Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands) in British Columbia, Canada. History Besides Mexican Tom, who set up camp at Tlell in 1904, Eric Richa ...
and Sandspit annual rainfall averages from to . Average monthly precipitation is markedly concentrated from October to January, with December the wettest month, averaging about , most of which is rain, though snow is possible. May through July represent a markedly drier season; July, the driest month, averages about of rain. Snowfall is generally moderate, averaging from to , though at northerly
Langara Island Langara Island, known as Kiis Gwaii to the Haida ( Haida: ''Ḵ'íis Gwáayaay''), is the northernmost island of Haida Gwaii in British Columbia, Canada. The island is approximately in size. It is located approximately south of Alaska. Hist ...
, it averages around . Precipitation is typically extremely frequent (especially from autumn to mid-winter), occurring on around two-thirds of all days even in relatively shielded areas, and direct sunlight is scarce, averaging around 3 to 4 hours per day.


2012 controversy around depositing iron in the ocean

In July 2012, entrepreneur
Russ George Russ George (Darcy Russel George; born 6 December 1949) is an American businessman and entrepreneur best known for founding the San Francisco–based firm Planktos Inc. which claims to "restore ecosystems and slow climate change". In 2007 he p ...
dispersed of
iron sulphate Iron sulfate may refer to: * Ferrous sulfate, Iron(II) sulfate Iron(II) sulfate (British English: iron(II) sulphate) or ferrous sulfate denotes a range of salts with the formula Fe SO4·''x''H2O. These compounds exist most commonly as the hept ...
dust into the Pacific Ocean several hundred miles west of the islands of Haida Gwaii. The
Old Massett Village Council Old Massett Village Council is a band government of the Haida people, located in Old Massett, on Haida Gwaii. Old Massett Village Council is one of two Canadian band governments for the Haida Nation, the other is the Skidegate Band Council. The ma ...
was persuaded to finance this geoengineering experiment as a "salmon enhancement project" with $1 million in village funds. The concept was that the formerly
iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
-deficient waters would produce more
phytoplankton Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'. Ph ...
that would in turn produce more
salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...
. George hoped to finance the project by using the
carbon sequestration Carbon sequestration is the process of storing carbon in a carbon pool. Carbon dioxide () is naturally captured from the atmosphere through biological, chemical, and physical processes. These changes can be accelerated through changes in land ...
effects of the new plankton as marketable carbon offsets. The project has been plagued by charges of unscientific procedures and recklessness. George contended that 100 tons of iron is negligible compared to what naturally enters the ocean. Lawyers, environmentalists, and civil society groups are calling the dumping a "blatant violation" of two international moratoriums. George said that the Old Massett Village Council and its lawyers approved the effort and at least seven Canadian agencies were aware of it. In May 2013, the
Haida Salmon Restoration Corporation The Haida Salmon Restoration Corporation (HSRC) is a Vancouver-based company formerly run by Russ George and funded by the Old Massett band of Haida Gwaii. The company conducted a small scale ocean fertilization experiment in 2012. 120 tons of iron ...
removed George as a director of the company and ended his employment. The 2013 salmon runs increased from 50 million to 226 million fish, but research conducted on 13 major iron-fertilization experiments in the open ocean since 1990 concludes that the method is unproven, and with respect to the Haida Gwaii project, "scientists have seen no evidence that the experiment worked".


Geology


Earthquake hazards

The islands are located along the
Queen Charlotte Fault The Queen Charlotte Fault is an active transform fault that marks the boundary of the North American plate and the Pacific plate. It is Canada's right-lateral strike-slip equivalent to the San Andreas Fault to the south in California. The Queen Ch ...
, an active
transform fault A transform fault or transform boundary, is a fault along a plate boundary where the motion is predominantly horizontal. It ends abruptly where it connects to another plate boundary, either another transform, a spreading ridge, or a subductio ...
that produces significant earthquakes every 3–30 years. This is the result of the converging of the
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
and
North American Plate The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Cuba, the Bahamas, extreme northeastern Asia, and parts of Iceland and the Azores. With an area of , it is the Earth's second largest tectonic plate, behind the Pacific ...
s along the archipelago's west coast. Major earthquakes have occurred in the Haida Gwaii in 1949 and
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
. Though the region is prone to fair geological activity, there is little infrastructure set up to gather accurate information to warn locals of possible threats. Many residents, notably from First Nations communities, have been critical of the fact that they must rely on information coming from neighbouring American states such as Washington or
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
and from the USGS (United States Geological Survey). Regardless of the inconsistencies,
Environment Canada Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC; french: Environnement et Changement climatique Canada),Environment and Climate Change Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of the Environment ( ...
does regularly do field tests across the Pacific coast of British Columbia relating to this matter. The
Cascadia subduction zone The Cascadia subduction zone is a convergent plate boundary that stretches from northern Vancouver Island in Canada to Northern California in the United States. It is a very long, sloping subduction zone where the Explorer, Juan de Fuca, a ...
does pose some additional earthquake risks, but, most importantly, the subduction zone poses direct
tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...
risks to the coastal settlements on the western side of the islands.


Culture


Visual arts

The artwork known as ''
Spirit of Haida Gwaii The ''Spirit of Haida Gwaii'' is a sculpture by British Columbia Haida artist Bill Reid (1920–1998). There are two versions of it: the black canoe and the jade canoe. The black canoe features on Canadian $20 bills of the Canadian Journey serie ...
'', by
Bill Reid William Ronald Reid Jr. (12 January 1920 – 13 March 1998) ( Haida) was a Canadian artist whose works include jewelry, sculpture, screen-printing, and paintings. Producing over one thousand original works during his fifty-year career, Reid is ...
, is featured on the reverse of
Canadian $20 bill The Canadian $20 note is one of the most common banknotes of the Canadian dollar; it is the primary banknote dispensed from Canadian automatic teller machines (ATMs). The newest version, the Frontier Series polymer note, was released to the gen ...
s produced between 2004 and 2011. It depicts a Haida chief in a canoe, accompanied by the mythic messengers Raven, Frog and Eagle (the first casting of this sculpture, ''Spirit of Haida Gwaii: The Black Canoe'', is on display in the atrium of the Canadian Embassy in Washington DC, the other, ''Spirit of Haida Gwaii: the Jade Canoe'', is on display in Vancouver Airport). Haida art is also frequently seen on large monumental-sized cedar
totem poles Totem poles ( hai, gyáaʼaang) are monumental carvings found in western Canada and the northwestern United States. They are a type of Northwest Coast art, consisting of poles, posts or pillars, carved with symbols or figures. They are usually m ...
and dugout canoes, hand-crafted gold and silver jewellery, and even as cartoons in the form of
Haida manga Haida manga is a contemporary style of Haida comics and print cartoons that explores the elements of both traditional North Pacific indigenous arts and narrative, while also adapting contemporary techniques of artistic design from the western por ...
.


Haida language

The
Haida language Haida (', ', ', ') is the language of the Haida people, spoken in the Haida Gwaii archipelago off the coast of Canada and on Prince of Wales Island in Alaska. An endangered language, Haida currently has 24 native speakers, though revitalizat ...
was proposed for classification as part of the Nadene family of languages on the basis of a few similarities with Athabaskan–Eyak–Tlingit. Many linguists, however, consider the evidence insufficient and continue to regard Haida as a
language isolate Language isolates are languages that cannot be classified into larger language families. Korean and Basque are two of the most common examples. Other language isolates include Ainu in Asia, Sandawe in Africa, and Haida in North America. The num ...
. All 50 remaining speakers of Haida are over 70 years old.
Telus Telus Communications Inc. (TCI) is the wholly owned principal subsidiary of Telus Corporation, a Canadian national telecommunications company that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services including internet access, voi ...
and Gwaii Trust recently completed a project to bring broadband internet to the island via a microwave relay. This enables interactive research to be carried out on the more than 80 CDs of language, story and spoken history of the people.


In popular culture

* Haida Gwaii has been featured in ''
The Nature of Things ''The Nature of Things'' (also, ''The Nature of Things with David Suzuki'') is a Canadian television series of documentary programs. It debuted on CBC Television on 6 November 1960. Many of the programs document nature and the effect that hu ...
'' documentaries since the 1970s due to its unique forest and ecosystem. Many wildlife and adventure tourism TV series (in the US and Canada) have also featured the islands since the 1990s, reflecting the islands as a globe trekking location. * Haida Gwaii and its people are the subject of the documentary '' Haida Gwaii: On the Edge of the World''. * They are a location in the 2009 novel '' Generation A'' by
Douglas Coupland Douglas Coupland (born 30 December 1961) is a Canadian novelist, designer, and visual artist. His first novel, the 1991 international bestseller '' Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture'', popularized the terms ''Generation X'' and ''McJ ...
. * Haida Gwaii generally and
Ninstints SG̱ang Gwaay Llanagaay ("Red Cod Island"), commonly known by its English name Ninstints, is a village site of the Haida people and part of the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site on Haida Gwaii on the North Coast of Bri ...
particularly are key locations in
Louise Penny Louise Penny is a Canadian author of mystery novels set in the Canadian province of Quebec centred on the work of francophone Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec. Penny's first career was as a radio broadcaster for the ...
's novel ''The Brutal Telling.'' * Poet
Robert Bringhurst Robert Bringhurst Appointments to the Order of Canada (2013). (born 16 October 1946) is a Canadian poet, typographer and author. He has translated substantial works from Haida and Navajo and from classical Greek and Arabic. He wrote ''The Eleme ...
published a series of translations of stories as told by the mythtellers Ghandl and Skaay. * Portions of the book ''The Silver Totem of Shame'', by Canadian author
R.J. Harlick R.J. Harlick is a Canadian Mystery fiction, mystery writer. Her Meg Harris mystery series is set in the Canadian wilderness. With the ''Meg Harris mystery series'' Harlick introduces protagonist ''Meg Harris'' who has fled the urban frenzy of Tor ...
, are set in Haida Gwaii. * Sailing in Haida Gwaii is featured in
Robin Esrock Robin Esrock ( ; born 1974 in Johannesburg, South Africa)Mount Eerie Mount Eerie is the musical project of American songwriter and producer Phil Elverum. Elverum (also of The Microphones) is the principal member of the band, but has collaborated with many other musicians on his records and in live performances. ...
's 2017 album ''
A Crow Looked at Me ''A Crow Looked at Me'' is the eighth studio album by Mount Eerie, a solo project of the American musician Phil Elverum. Released in 2017, it was composed in the aftermath of his 35-year-old wife Geneviève Castrée's diagnosis with pancreatic ...
'' references singer
Phil Elverum Philip Whitman Elverum (; born May 23, 1978) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and visual artist, best known for his musical projects The Microphones and Mount Eerie. Based in Anacortes, Washington, in the mid-2000s he began ...
's trip to Haida Gwaii on the song "Ravens". * ''Masters of the Northwest,'' a two-hour documentary mainly featuring Haida Gwaii was broadcast by the Ontario educational TV network in September, 2017 * Haida Gwaii is the setting for
John Vaillant John Vaillant (born June 4, 1962) is an American-Canadian writer and journalist whose work has appeared in ''The New Yorker, The Atlantic, National Geographic'', and '' Outside''. He has written both non-fiction and fiction books. Personal life ...
's ''The Golden Spruce''. The book deals with the felling of the Golden Spruce or Kiidk'yaas on Haida Gwaii by Grant Hadwin. * ''
Edge of the Knife ''Edge of the Knife'' ( hai, SG̲aawaay Ḵ'uuna, ) is a 2018 Canadian drama film co-directed by Gwaai Edenshaw and Helen Haig-Brown. It is the first feature film spoken only in the Haida language. Set in 19th-century Haida Gwaii, it tells the c ...
(SG̲aawaay Ḵ'uuna)'', directed by
Gwaai Edenshaw Gwaai Edenshaw is a Haida people, Haida artist and filmmaker from Canada. Along with Helen Haig-Brown, he co-directed ''Edge of the Knife'' (), the first Haida language feature film. Background The son of noted Haida artist Guujaaw (Gary Edens ...
and
Helen Haig-Brown Helen Haig-Brown is a Tsilhqot'in filmmaker working primarily with indigenous and First Nations themes. Many of these derive from her maternal roots in the Tsilhqot'in First Nation. Early life and education Helen Haig-Brown is from the Yunesit'in ...
as the first feature film ever made in the Haida language, was shot on Haida Gwaii in 2017.Marsha Lederman
"Making history on Haida Gwaii"
. ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'', June 22, 2017.
* ''
Rainbow Six Siege ''Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege'' is an online tactical shooter video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on December 1, 2015; the game was ...
'' references Frost, a selectable operative who was raised in Vancouver, having spent time hunting as an adolescent on Haida Gwaii. This is likely a nod to her unique piece of equipment, a trap in the style of those used for bears repurposed for use in combat against humans.


See also

*
Council of the Haida Nation The Council of the Haida Nation ("CHN") (''X̱aaydaG̱a Waadlux̱an Naay'') is the elected government of the Haida Nation. The council consists of a president and vice-president elected by popular vote, twelve regional representatives from four ele ...
*
Dené–Yeniseian languages Dené–Yeniseian is a proposed language family consisting of the Yeniseian languages of central Siberia and the Na-Dené languages of northwestern North America. Reception among experts has been somewhat favorable; thus, Dené–Yeniseian has b ...
*
Guujaaw Gidansda Giindajin Haawasti Guujaaw, also known as Gary Edenshaw, is a singer, wood carver, traditional medicine practitioner, political activist and leader. He of Gakyaals Kiiqawaay, a Haida family of the Raven moiety. He has currently inheri ...
* '' Haida Gwaii: On the Edge of the World'' *
Haida language Haida (', ', ', ') is the language of the Haida people, spoken in the Haida Gwaii archipelago off the coast of Canada and on Prince of Wales Island in Alaska. An endangered language, Haida currently has 24 native speakers, though revitalizat ...
* Hlk'yah G̱awG̱a (Windy Bay) *
Indigenous peoples of Siberia Siberia, including the Russian Far East, is a vast region spanning the northern part of the Asian continent, and forming the Asiatic portion of Russia. As a result of the Russian conquest of Siberia (17th to 19th centuries) and of the subseque ...
* Lohafex * Moresby Camp *
Na-Dene languages Na-Dene (; also Nadene, Na-Dené, Athabaskan–Eyak–Tlingit, Tlina–Dene) is a family of Native American languages that includes at least the Athabaskan languages, Eyak, and Tlingit languages. Haida was formerly included, but is now considered ...
*
List of islands of British Columbia This is a list of islands of British Columbia. South Coast Vancouver Island *Vancouver Island Gulf of Georgia Gulf Islands =Southern Gulf Islands= *Brethour Island * Cabbage Island * Curlew Island * De Courcy Islands ** Mudge Island **Lin ...


References


Bibliography

* - Total pages: 500 *


External links


Village of Queen Charlotte

Sandspit Community Website (Moresby Island Management Committee)



Council of the Haida Nation

Haida Heritage Centre at Kaay Llnagaay

''The Haida Gwaii Observer'' – Local Newspaper
* {{authority control Archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean North Coast Regional District Archipelagoes of British Columbia North Coast of British Columbia Cultural regions