Getting to Haida Gwaii

Haida Gwaii is not as isolated as its location would suggest. Both Pacific Coastal Airlines and Air Canada fly daily to the Islands from Vancouver. Air Canada landing in Sandspit on Moresby Island and Pacific Coastal Flying into Masset on Graham Islands' northern shore. Flying is not inexpensive and takes about 2 hours. A shuttle operated by Eagle Transit in Queen Charlotte meets Air Canada flights into Sandspit and provides transportation to the ferry terminal and across Skidegate Inlet. Masset's Airport is a 2 minute drive from the town centre.

Floatplane service is provided by North Pacific Seaplanes daily to Masset from Prince Rupert (40 minutes) and several times a week to Queen Charlotte (1 hour).

The majority of independant travellers to Haida Gwaii arrive through the BC Ferries system. During the summer months Ferries arrive in Skidegate 6 times a week from Prince Rupert and 3 days a week in the winter, if conditions permit. Depending on weather the voyage takes between 6 - 8 hours. Cabins are available for a cost.


BC Ferries - MV Northern Adventure

A connecting ferry operates through the Inside Passage between Prince Rupert and Port Hardy on northern Vancouver Island and is reccommended to locals and visitors alike for its spectacular scenery and relaxed voyage.

Communities on Haida Gwaii

There are 7 communities on Haida Gwaii; 3 municipalities, 2 Haida villages and 2 unincorporated settlements. Most of the Islands' 4,800 residents live around these centres. Residents living outside of the municipalities or Haida villages are governed by the Skeena/Queen Charlotte Regional District.

The three municipalities on Haida Gwaii are the Villages of Masset, Port Clements and Queen Charlotte. Old Massett and Skidegate are the two occupied Haida villages with Tlell and Sandspit making up the remainder of the organized unincorporated communities.

With the exception of Sandspit all of the islands communities are located on Graham Island, the largest of the archipelago's islands and are connected by the Yellowhead Highway. Sandspit is connected to the other islands communities by a short 20 minute ferry crossing Skidegate Inlet.

Archipelago of Haida Gwaii

The archipelago of Haida Gwaii consists of more than 150 islands of various sizes lying alongside the edge of the continental shelf, off the coast of British Columbia.

Haida Gwaii from Space

Shaped like an inverted triangle, the main two Islands of Haida Gwaii are Graham Island in the north and Moresby Island in the south. The southern half of Moresby Island is protected by the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Protected Site. There are few roads on Moresby Island and access into Gwaii Haanas is only available by boat or float plane.

There are three distinct geographical topographies found on Haida Gwaii: The Queen Charlotte Mountains, the Skidegate Plateau and the Queen Charlotte lowlands. The Queen Charlotte Mountains run along the west coast of the Islands from the southern tip along the westcoast acting as a backbone for the islands. The Queen Charlotte Lowlands are found on the north and east coasts of the Islands. This terrain is typically comprised of peat bogs and was scoured by the last retreating glacier about 15,000 years ago. The Skidegate plateau lies in between these two regions and acts as a transition zone.

There are three main protected areas on Haida Gwaii covering more than 50% of the land base. The Gwaii Haanas National Park and Haida Protected Site in the south, Naikoon Provincial Park in the northeast and the recently established Duu Guusd Haida Protected Area along the Northwest and West Coast of the Islands.

The Potlatch Ceremony

The potlatch ceremony filled the role of a notarized legal system for the Haida and other First Nations along the British Columbia coast. All special events, transfers of status or claims to territory or resources would be required by tradition to be potlatched.

The potlatch consists of four main components: The gathering of appropriate guests, their entertainment and feeding, the conduction of required business, and the payment to the guests at the conclusion of the potlatch for their witness of the business that was conducted.


Eagle down is spread as a welcome at the beginning of a potlatch.


Everyone in attendance at a potlatch is required to be paid by the host clan or chief for their attendance and remembrance of the business that was conducted during the potlatch. The status of the individual and their affiliation would determine what level of payment would be appropriate with guest chiefs receiving more than visitors of lesser status.

The distribution of payment to those in attendance at the conclusion of a potlatch was the most recognized way for Chiefs to showcase their wealth, power or prestige. It was not uncommon for Chiefs to give away all of their possessions to showcase their wealth and their confidence in their ability to re amass this wealth. The more times a Chief could potlatch during their lifetime, the higher their status became.

As a result, it was the distribution of assets and resources rather than their accumulation that was placed of higher value within the society.

The Haida

The Haida were the first people to inhabit the Islands. Origins unknown, they are a lingustically distinct group separate from the First Nations on the mainland of British Columbia. Known primarily for their mastery of the artful carving of monumental totem poles their culture still loosely revolves around a complex clan system based on two main clans: Eagles and Ravens.

Following a matrilineal lineage, the clans would intermarry with their offspring inheriting the clan of their mother. An Eagle man would marry an Raven woman and have Raven children and a Raven man would marry an Eagle woman and have Eagle children. As a result the main role of inheritance was between Uncle and Nephew since the Father and Son would be of different clans.

The Haida were isolated to the Islands of Haida Gwaii prior to contact. Occupying more than a dozen primary villages the Haida also occupied more than a hundred seasonal village locations throughout the Islands.

The Haida system of governance was controled by clan chiefs overseeing their clans around longhouses, the traditional communal dwelling of the Haida. Because of the Haida's system of intermareriage between clans it was common for there to be both Eagle and Raven longhouses in villages with one chief claiming ownership of the village itself.

Within the clan, a ranking system existed with chiefs at the top and slaves occupying the botton rung. Through good service or deeds one was able to rise (or drop) through the system in a limited fashion.

Women were highly respected within Haida society and their advice was often sought although they seldom held the title of Chief.

Rivalry existed within the Haida Nation but primarily the aggression of the Haida was focussed on First Nations on the BC mainland and Vancouver Island.

Today, due to the pressures of disease, religion and government the only occupied Haida villages on Haida Gwaii are Skidegate and Old Massett. Both these communnities have a similar system of elected governance with other municipalities within British Columbia, albeit with larger responsibilities.

The Haida Nation's governement relations are conducted with the Province of British Columba and the Government of Canada by the Council of the Haida Nation an elected body of the general population designed to represent the interests of the herediatry chiefs.

With no treaties signed with the Haida Nation, title of Haida Gwaii remains unresolved and recent court challenges have forced the governments of Canada and British Columbia  to seriously negotiate with the Haida Nation. The Haida Nation has currently suspended its court challenge for title in favour of entering into the BC Treaty Process after several wins supporting their title were had at the Supreme Court of Canada.

Arriving on Haida Gwaii

The Haida Nation has several stories explaining how they came to be on these islands.  Best known is the myth of Raven, who released the first men from a clam shell on the Islands' northeastern tip. The image of this instigator was captured by Haida artist Bill Reid in his sculpture Raven and the First Men, found at the UBC Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver and on the back of the Canadian $20 bill.

Haida Gwaii the "Islands of the People" have almost as many stories of how people arrived here as there are people here. It is an archepelago that has captured the hearts and minds of explorers, adventurers, geographers, researchers, those off course and those looking for a special place far, far away at the edge of the world.

My story is no different than most of those living here without ancestry on the Islands. By chance, an introduction, a love, an opportunity, a lifestyle. A grouping not part of a larger scheme at least of my planning but the Islands are now my home and responsibility.

If you have the fortune to visit Haida Gwaii someday I encourage you to take the time to chat with some of the local inhabitants. Their tales of arrival are as varied as they are; farmers, fishers, loggers, hippies, stowaways, draft dodgers. They have a diverse and interesting background linked by their common love for Haida Gwaii and the lifestyle the Islands affords.

Despite our different backgrounds, arrival methods and origins, there is unification between the Haida Nation, Island residents and our communities in the recognition that our future as Islanders is linked to our cooperation and the wise use of our resources.

How people arrived here isn't as important as what we do with this place now that we have arrived. That's why if you ask me, I'll tell you I was released by Raven from a clam shell on the Islands northeastern tip.