Haida Gwaii
 | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 53°00′N 132°00′W / 53.000°N 132.000°W |
| Administration | |
Canada | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 4761 [1] |
Haida Gwaii ("Islands of the People"),[2] formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands,[3] is an archipelago on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Haida Gwaii consists of two main islands: Graham Island in the north, and Moresby Island in the south, along with approximately 150 smaller islands with a total landmass of 10,180 km2 (3,931 sq mi). Other major islands include Anthony, Langara, Louise, Lyell, Burnaby, and Kunghit Islands.
The islands are separated from the British Columbia mainland to the east by Hecate Strait. Vancouver Island lies to the south, across Queen Charlotte Sound, while the U.S. state of Alaska is to the north, across a marine border Dixon Entrance disputed by two Nation state claimants, Canada and the USA. Haida territories, continuously occupied before Canada or USA claims, include lands and waters on both side of this political disagreement. There is no evidence of a free informed prior legal transfer of competence over these territories from the Indigenous Peoples to either Nation state.
In the Haida Gwaii archipelago all lands and waters are subject to the policies and jurisdiction of the Haida Nation. Additionally some of the islands are protected under Canada federal legislation as Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site, which is mostly Moresby Island and adjoining islands and islets (Gwaii Haanas is the Haida name for Moresby Island). In all these instances the Haida Nation has pre established protected status and subsequently agreed to the limited Canadian jurisdictional declarations. The foundation document that permits this to occur without prejudice to the underlying issues of sovereign jurisdiction is the Gwaii Haanas Agreement which recognizes the dual presence of two governmental structures.
Also protected, but under provincial legislation, are several parks, the largest of which is Naikoon Provincial Park on northeastern Graham Island. The islands are home to an abundance of wildlife, including the largest subspecies of black bear, and also the smallest subspecies (Ursus americana carlottae) and the subspecies of stoat Mustela erminea haidarum. Black-tailed deer and raccoon are introduced species that have become abundant.
On June 3, 2010, the Haida Gwaii Reconciliation Act officially renamed the islands Haida Gwaii as part of a reconciliation protocol between British Columbia and the Haida Nation.[2][4]
Economy
The cash based economy is blended,[clarification needed] including Art and natural resources, primarily logging and commercial fishing. 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 guides, cycling, camping, and adventure tourism.
The custom economy which is mostly a Haida cashless system and depends upon access to the marine and terrestrial ecoystems includes a robust potlatch structure and a complex and active system of intellectual and incorporeal values.
Population
At the time of early Canadian colonial contact, the population was estimated to be one of the highest concentrations of hunter gatherer societies in the world. A lower estimate would be roughly 10,000 people,[citation needed] residing in several full season and seasonal regionally influential towns and smaller settlements all with a carefully structured relationship to area marine and terrestrial "resources". The Haida were a slaving Peoples with populations drawn primarily from other regional Peoples. Ninety percent of the population died during the 1800s from smallpox; other diseases arrived as well, including typhoid, measles, and syphilis, affecting many more inhabitants. By 1900, only 350 people remained. Towns were abandoned as people left their homes for the winter towns of Klinkwan (Alaska), Skidegate and Masset, cannery towns on the mainland, or for more urbanized centers in the US and Canada. Today, only some 3,800 Haida citizens live on the islands. About 70% of these Indigenous Peoples live in two communities at Skidegate and Old Massett, with a population of about 1500 each. Citizens also reside throughout rural and urban centers in Alaska, Washington State and British Columbia.
Anthony Island and the island of Ninstints were made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006; in the decision, the decline in population wrought by disease was referenced when citing the 'vanished civilization' of the Haida.[5]
History
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (December 2010) |
The archipelago was visited in 1774 by Juan Pérez (at Langara Island) and in 1778 by Captain James Cook. Haida narratives note that early contacts were made with Buddhist monks. The name Massett is also the result of earlier contacts and assistance given to Spanish ships perhaps as early as the 16th century.
Naming
In 1787 the islands were surveyed by Captain George Dixon. They were named the Queen Charlotte Islands by Captain Dixon after one of his ships, the Queen Charlotte, which was named after Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III of the United Kingdom.
The name Haida Gwaii is of 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.[2] "Haida Gwaii" means "islands of the people", while "Haida" on its own means not only "us" but also "people". On December 11, 2009, the BC government announced that legislation would be introduced in mid-2010 to officially rename the Queen Charlotte Islands as Haida Gwaii. The legislation received Royal assent on June 3, 2010, formalizing the name change.[2] This name change is officially recognized by all levels of Canadian governments,[6] including international name databases.[7]
Still in use is the older name 'Xaadala Gwayee' or, in alternative orthography, 'Xhaaidlagha Gwaayaai', meaning "islands on the Boundary of the world".[2] Xhaaydla, 'Worlds' referring here to the sea and sky.[citation needed] A parallel name to Queen Charlotte Islands used by American traders, who considered the islands part of the US-claimed Oregon Country, was Washington's Isles.
Environment
The last Pleistocene glaciation 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 and environmental activists in the 1970s to use the term "Galápagos of the North", a unique biocultural zone with many endemic kinds of 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, with heavy rainfall and relatively mild temperatures throughout the year.
The islands are home to a wide variety of large endemic trees, including the Sitka spruce, western red cedar, yellow cedar (Nootka cypress), shore pine, western hemlock, mountain hemlock, and red alder. The Flora of the Queen Charlotte Islands[8] describes plants known from the islands.
Kiidk'yaas (The Golden Spruce), a naturally occurring genetic-variant yellow-coloured Sitka spruce tree, was located near the Yakoun River, the largest on Graham Island. It was a popular tourist attraction until it was illegally cut down in 1997 as a protest against the BC legally sanctioned industrial logging practices.
For a very short time[when?] a popular attraction for tourists to the islands was the second appearance of a White Raven. This was an albino raven with unusual colouring. The White Raven lived around Port Clements and would commonly be seen taking food handouts from locals and visitors alike. It died after making contact with an electrical transformer. In 1985 as the Haida Nation prepared for its significant and ultimately successful challenge to Canadian jurisdictional claims over the forest a "White Raven" appeared in Old Massett. The White Raven is a potent cultural icon representing a fundamental transformative force and its appearance was a positive sign for the Haida Nation. This bird disappeared the same winter that the blockades of the logging roads in Lyell Island took place.
Earthquake hazards
The islands are located along the Queen Charlotte Fault, an active transform fault that produces significant earthquakes every 3–30 years. This is the result of the converging of the Pacific and North American Plates along the archipelago's west coast.[9] The most recent earthquakes were on Nov 17th 2009.
Climate
The climate of Haida Gwaii is generally oceanic (Cfb) and very similar to the climate of the west coast of Scotland in terms of average temperatures and precipitation. Temperatures are moderate year round, whilst rainfall is generally heavy especially in the autumn months, when in the most exposed southwestern areas near Tasu daily rainfalls as high as 317 millimetres (12.5 in) have been recorded, and the annual rainfalls are among the highest in the world outside the tropics. Even in the relatively shielded areas around Tlell and Sandspit annual rainfall averages from 1,200 millimetres (47 in) to 1,400 millimetres (55 in). Snowfall is generally moderate, averaging from 10 centimetres (3.9 in) to 70 centimetres (28 in), though at northerly Langara Island it averages around 100 centimetres (39 in). Precipitation is typically extremely frequent, occurring on around two-thirds of all days even in relatively shielded areas, and sunshine is scarce, averaging around 3 to 4 hours per day.
| Climate data for Sandspit | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 12.4 (54.3) |
13.4 (56.1) |
13.9 (57.0) |
18.9 (66.0) |
21.7 (71.1) |
25.9 (78.6) |
27.8 (82.0) |
26.7 (80.1) |
24.1 (75.4) |
20.6 (69.1) |
16.3 (61.3) |
13.4 (56.1) |
27.8 (82.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 5.6 (42.1) |
6.3 (43.3) |
7.6 (45.7) |
9.4 (48.9) |
12 (54) |
14.6 (58.3) |
17 (63) |
17.9 (64.2) |
16 (61) |
12.1 (53.8) |
8.3 (46.9) |
6.3 (43.3) |
11.1 (52.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 0.7 (33.3) |
1.1 (34.0) |
1.8 (35.2) |
3.3 (37.9) |
6 (43) |
8.9 (48.0) |
11.5 (52.7) |
12.1 (53.8) |
10.2 (50.4) |
6.4 (43.5) |
2.9 (37.2) |
1.3 (34.3) |
5.5 (41.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −13.9 (7.0) |
−12.3 (9.9) |
−12.2 (10.0) |
−5.1 (22.8) |
−1.1 (30.0) |
2.2 (36.0) |
5.0 (41.0) |
1.9 (35.4) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
−3.1 (26.4) |
−15.5 (4.1) |
−12.8 (9.0) |
−15.5 (4.1) |
| Record low wind chill | −22.9 | −24.1 | −22.9 | −10.8 | −4.2 | −0.2 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 0.7 | −10.7 | −26 | −20.8 | −26 |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 168.7 (6.64) |
139 (5.5) |
113.3 (4.46) |
102 (4.0) |
63.2 (2.49) |
56.2 (2.21) |
46.6 (1.83) |
57.5 (2.26) |
83.7 (3.30) |
185.5 (7.30) |
198.2 (7.80) |
184.5 (7.26) |
1,398.4 (55.05) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 148.8 (5.86) |
123.1 (4.85) |
107.2 (4.22) |
99.9 (3.93) |
63.2 (2.49) |
56.2 (2.21) |
46.7 (1.84) |
57.5 (2.26) |
83.7 (3.30) |
185.5 (7.30) |
195.6 (7.70) |
174.0 (6.85) |
1,341.4 (52.81) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 22.3 (8.8) |
16.0 (6.3) |
6.5 (2.6) |
2.0 (0.8) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
3.6 (1.4) |
11.3 (4.4) |
61.7 (24.3) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 22.3 | 19.7 | 20.7 | 19.8 | 17.8 | 16.0 | 14.1 | 13.8 | 16.9 | 22.6 | 23.7 | 22.8 | 230.2 |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 19.6 | 17.6 | 20.1 | 19.6 | 17.7 | 16.0 | 14.1 | 13.9 | 16.9 | 22.6 | 23.0 | 21.3 | 222.4 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) | 5.5 | 4.4 | 2.9 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 69.3 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 48.6 | 78.1 | 118.1 | 154.6 | 199.1 | 176.8 | 186.6 | 186.8 | 141.8 | 97.9 | 63.0 | 47.0 | 1,498.4 |
| Source: Environment Canada[10] | |||||||||||||
Culture
Visual arts
The artwork known as Spirit of Haida Gwaii, by Bill Reid, is featured on the reverse of the Canadian $20 bill.[11] 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 and dugout canoes, hand-crafted gold and silver jewellery, and even as cartoons in the form of Haida Manga.
Haida language
The Haida language 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. All 50 remaining speakers of Haida are over 70 years old. Telus and Gwaii Trust recently completed a project to bring broadband internet to the island via a 150 km (93 mi) 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.
Transportation
The main transportation links between the Islands and the continent are to the mainland of British Columbia through the Sandspit Airport, the Masset Airport and the BC Ferries terminal at Skidegate. The westernmost leg of Highway 16 connects Masset and Skidegate on Graham Island, and Skidegate with Prince Rupert on the mainland via regular BC Ferries service by the MV Northern Adventure. 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 and Masset Water Aerodrome.
See also
References
- ^ "Population Estimates". bcstats.gov.be.ca. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "Haida Gwaii". BC Geographical Names.
- ^ "Queen Charlotte Islands". BC Geographical Names.
- ^ Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. "Bill 18 — 2010: Haida Gwaii Reconciliation Act". Queen's Printer. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
- ^ UNESCO World Heritage Site: Justification, 1981
- ^ "The Atlas of Canada – Toporama". Atlas of Canada. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
- ^ Haida Gwaii at GEOnet Names Server
- ^ Calder, James A., Roy L. Taylor, and Gerald A. Mulligan (1968). Flora of the Queen Charlotte Islands. Ottawa: Research Branch, Canada Department of Agriculture.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "On This Day August 22, 1949", National Post, pp. B14, August 22, 2008
- ^ Environment Canada—Canadian Climate Normals 1971–2000, accessed 4 December 2011
- ^ "Banknotes". Retrieved 28 October 2010.
External links
- Village of Queen Charlotte
- Sandspit Community Website (Moresby Island Management Committee)
- Village of Masset
- Village of Port Clements
- Council of the Haida Nation
- Haida Heritage Centre at Kaay Llnagaay
- The QCI Observer - Local Newspaper
- [1]
