1881 Schamanenrassel mit Sonnengesicht anagoria

The Heiltsuk Nation is a

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 ...

government in the Central Coast region of the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

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, ...

, centred on Campbell Island in the community of

Bella Bella, British Columbia Bella Bella, also known as Waglisla, is the home of the Heiltsuk and is an unincorporated community and Indian reserve community located within Bella Bella Indian Reserve No. 1 on the east coast of Campbell Island in the Central Coast region ...

. The

Heiltsuk The Heiltsuk or Haíɫzaqv , sometimes historically referred to as ''Bella Bella'', are an Indigenous people of the Central Coast region in British Columbia, centred on the island community of Bella Bella. The government of the Heiltsuk people ...

people speak the

Heiltsuk language Heiltsuk , also known as Haíɫzaqv, Bella Bella and Haihais, is a dialect of the North Wakashan (Kwakiutlan) language Heiltsuk-Oowekyala that is spoken by the Haihai ( Xai'xais) and Bella Bella First Nations peoples of the Central Coast region ...

, and were, like their language, and along with the neighbouring

Haisla Haisla may refer to: * Haisla people, an indigenous people living in Kitamaat, British Columbia, Canada. * Haisla language, their northern Wakashan language. * Haisla Nation The Haisla Nation is the Indian Act-mandated band government which nominall ...

and

Wuikinuxv The Wuikinuxv , ("Backbone people"), also rendered Oweekano (Pre-1976); ''Oowekeeno'' (1976-2003) (variation: ''Oweekeno, Owekano, Oweekayno, Wuikenukv, Wikeno, Owikeno, Awikenox'', and also known as the Rivers Inlet people, are an Indigenous Fir ...

(Owekeeno) peoples, incorrectly known in the past as the "Northern Kwakiutl". The Heiltsuk were also known as the Bella Bella, after their core community. The present day Heiltsuk First Nation is an amalgamation of 5 tribal groups who inhabited an area approximately 6000 square miles of the

Central Coast of British Columbia , settlement_type = Region of British Columbia , image_skyline = , nickname = "The Coast" , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = British ...

. The Heiltsuk peoples lived off of both land and sea in the region between

Milbanke Sound Milbanke Sound is a sound on the coast of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Geography Milbanke Sound extends east from Queen Charlotte Sound, with Price Island on the west, Swindle Island on the north, and the Bardswell Group of island ...

and Fisher Channel. Heiltsuk territories include numerous inlets, islands, peninsulas, mountains and valleys. Rivers and streams cascade into the sea through heavy forests and dense undergrowth.‘‘Oral traditions of the present-day Heiltsuk maintain that the first generation of their ancestors were "set-down" by the Maker in various places within Heiltsuk territory and were living here before the time of a

Great Flood A flood myth or a deluge myth is a myth in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these myths and the primaeval ...

.’ Geological evidence shows people have been living there continuously for the past 14,000 years. 1,400 of the 2,200 Heiltsuk membership live on Campbell Island, which is approximately 78 nautical miles from the British Columbia mainland, and 98 nautical miles from

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 ...

. The 1997 Supreme Court of Canada decision in R. v. Gladstone found that the Heiltsuk have an Aboriginal right to trade in Herring. This was the first decision recognizing a commercial Aboriginal right in Canada. Despite winning the decision, the dispute over Heiltsuk access to herring, and management of the stock have persisted. The 2015 herring season saw a crisis develop between the Heiltsuk and Canada, including occupation of a DFO office. The crisis ended when the commercial herring gillnet fleet departed without fishing. A fire destroyed the only food store in the village recently. As a stop-gap measure the United Church became the "United Store" while a new building was constructed. This response occurred very quickly and managed to provide services to the community during a difficult time. The Heiltsuk have been opposed to the

Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines The Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines were a project to build a twin pipeline from Bruderheim, Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia. The eastbound pipeline would have imported natural gas condensate and the westbound pipeline would have expo ...

proposal, with some well-publicized hearings in Bella Bella. The Heiltsuk became involved in early efforts in the 1990s to conserve the

Great Bear Rainforest The Great Bear Rainforest is a temperate rain forest on the Pacific coast of British Columbia, Canada comprising 6.4 million hectares. It is part of the larger Pacific temperate rainforest ecoregion, which is the largest coastal temperate rain ...

. On January 29, 2016, in the Heiltsuk community of Bella Bella—along with representatives from other First Nations, industry, government and NGOs—they celebrated the completion of the final accord to protect the largest coastal temperate rainforest in the world. Archeologist Alisha Gauvreau, a PhD student from the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...

and a scholar with the

Hakai Institute The Hakai Institute (formerly the Hakai Beach Institute) is a scientific research, teaching and meeting center established by Eric Peterson and Christina Munck on Calvert Island, a remote island on the exposed Pacific edge of the Great Bear Rainf ...

, discovered a site on Triquet Island on British Columbia's Central Coast which appears to confirm Heiltsuk oral tradition. The archeological team have excavated a settlement in the area — in traditional Heiltsuk Nation territory — and dated it to 14,000 years ago, during the last ice age where glaciers covered much of North America.

Chief and Councillors

The Heiltsuk Nation elects a chief and 11 councillors who serve a 2-4 year term. Elections are conducted through a custom code based on the

Indian Act The ''Indian Act'' (, long name ''An Act to amend and consolidate the laws respecting Indians'') is a Canadian act of Parliament that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves. First passed in 1876 and still ...

. The most recent election was in 2018. The current council composition is as follows:

Language

The Heiltsuk, are speakers of Heiltsuk-Oowekyala, which is the central member of the northern branch of the Wakashan language family. The Heiltsuk call their language ''Hailhzaqvla'', which means "the Heiltsuk language". The Heiltsuk also knew and used the Chinook jargon—a trade jargon used to communicate across languages.

Economic Development

Established by the Heiltsuk Tribal council in 2006, the Heiltsuk Economic Development Corporation (HEDC), manages the business affairs of the Heiltsuk people. HEDC was developed to create an effective separation between business and politics in support of achieving the communities economic development goals.

Education and Cultural Institutions

The Heiltsuk Cultural Education Centre is located in the Bella Bella Community School (Right, High school wing). Founded in 1975, the Heiltsuk Cultural Education Centre marked the Heiltsuk (then known as the Bella Bella Indian Band) determination to ensure the preservation and revitalization of Heiltsuk culture. ''For over twenty years, the Heiltsuk Cultural Education Centre has been devoted to researching, preserving, and revitalizing the history, language and cultural traditions of the Heiltsuk Nation, located on the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada.'' Heiltsuk Cultural Centre website. Revival of ocean-going canoes. The Heiltsuk hosted a major ocean-going canoe festival in Bella Bella in July 2014. Some 60 canoes from as far away as Washington State, as well from Nations all up and down the coast traveled to Bella Bella for the Qatuwas Festival. The Heiltsuk were subjected to the

Indian Residential School In Canada, the Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. The network was funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by Christian churches. The school sys ...

system for much of the 20th century. The struggle to achieve a Heiltsuk-run school is referred to in the 1975 NFB film "Bella Bella." The Bella Bella Community School is a Heiltsuk-run school offering k-12 schooling.

Great Bear Rainforest

The Heiltsuk "territory is located at the heart" of the largest intact old-growth forest in the world, the Great Bear Rainforest. The Great Bear Rainforest was officially recognized by the

Government of British Columbia The Government of British Columbia (french: Gouvernement de la Colombie-Britannique) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of British Columbia. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assumi ...

in February 2016, and is Canada's contribution to the Queen's Commonwealth Canopy (QCC), a unique indigenous forest conservation initiative established in 2015 which now includes 16 of the 52 Commonwealth nations Industrial logging in the Great Bear Rainforest will be decreased in order to permanently conserve 85% of the forest. On October 13, 2016, an American tugboat, the ''Nathan E Stewart'', holding approximately 200,000 litres of industrial oils including diesel, while attached to a massive empty American oil barge, ran hard aground on a reef off

Athlone Island Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midlands Region with a population of 21 ...

near Bella Bella when the tugboat missed its turn into

Seaforth Channel , image = Ivory_Island_Lightstation_1.JPG , alt = Ivory Island Lighthouse , caption = Ivory Island Lighthouse at the northwest entrance to Seaforth Channel , pushpin_map = Canada British Columbia , pushpin_label_position = right , pushpin_ma ...

while transiting in Canadian waters on its return trip from Alaska.

Heiltsuk Herring Rights, R. v. Gladstone and Dispute with DFO

The Heiltsuk have a long history and relationship with herring. The 1997

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

decision R. v. Gladstone was a significant legal and constitutional victory for the Heiltsuk. The SCC found that the Heiltsuk have a pre-existing Aboriginal right to herring that includes a commercial element. Since the Gladstone decision was rendered the Heiltsuk have been in a dispute with Canada regarding implementation of the ruling as well as with the science used by DFO. The dispute boiled over in 2015 with the Heiltsuk occupying the local DFO office.Shore, Randy BC First Nations vows to stop herring roe fishery in its territory. Vancouver. The Vancouver Sun. March 3, 2016.

Notes on Nomenclature

The Heiltsuk are not well known among non-Aboriginal people. Part of this is due to the confusing terminology applied to First Nations over time. The Heiltsuk have been subsumed, inaccurately, as 'Northern Kwakiutl', Kwakiutl, and have also been known as Bella Bella (Indians), Milbanke Indians and by tribal terminology that applies to smaller tribal groups of the Heiltsuk.

References

Heiltsuk Cultural Education Center website

Heiltsuk Nation responds to Federal Government decision on Enbridge’s Northern Gateway Pipeline Project

External links

{{commons category, Heiltsuk
Heiltsuk Cultural Education Centre
First Nations governments in British Columbia Heiltsuk