Queen Charlotte Islands
 Haida Heritage Centre at Kaay Llnagaay | |
 Queen Charlotte Islands Map | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 53°00′N 132°00′W / 53°N 132°W |
| Total islands | ~150 |
| Major islands | Graham Island, Moresby Island |
| Area | 10,180 km (3,931 sq mi) |
| Country | |
| Canada | |
| Province |  British Columbia |
| Largest city | Queen Charlotte City (pop. 948) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 4800 (2008) |
The Queen Charlotte Islands, officially Haida Gwaii ("Islands of the People"), are an archipelago on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. They consist 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 km (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 the disputed Dixon Entrance.
Some of the islands are protected under 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). Also protected, but under provincial legislation, are several provincial 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 people.
Economy
The economy is blended, 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.
Population
At the time of colonial contact, the population was roughly 10,000 people, residing in several towns and including slave populations drawn from other clans of Haida as well as other tribes. 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 towns of Skidegate and Masset, cannery towns on the mainland, or for Vancouver Island. Today, only some 3,800 people live on the islands. About 70% of the indigenous people (Haida) live in two communities at Skidegate and , with a population of about 700 each. In total the Haida make up 45% of the population of the islands. Anthony Island and the town 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.
History
The archipelago was visited in 1774 by Juan Pérez (at Langara Island) and in 1778 by Captain James Cook.
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 1970s 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 "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. This name change is officially recognized by all levels of governments, including international name databases.
No longer in use is the older name 'Xaadala Gwayee' or, in alternative orthography, 'Xhaaidlagha Gwaayaai', meaning "islands on the Boundary of the world". Xhaaydla, 'Worlds' referring here to the sea and sky. 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 glaciation receded from the archipelago 16,000 BCE, about 2,000 years earlier than the rest of the BC Coast's ice age. That, and its subsequent isolation from the mainland, has produced what some call the "Galápagos of the North", a unique biological zone with many endemic animals and plants. Its climate, like that of the rest of the British Columbia and Alaskan coast in the area, is moderated by the North Pacific Current, and features heavy rainfall and relatively mild temperatures throughout the year.
The Yakoun River, the largest on Graham Island, was the site of one of the naturally occurring yellow-coloured spruce trees, that due to a genetic variation sometimes survive in places with heavy fog and cloud cover. Kiidk'yaas (The Golden Spruce) was a popular tourist attraction until it was illegally cut down by Grant Hadwin on January 22, 1997 as a protest against industrial logging practices.
The islands are home to a wide variety of other large native trees, including the Western red cedar, yellow cedar (Nootka Cypress), Shore Pine, Western hemlock, mountain hemlock, and red alder.
For a very short time a popular attraction for tourists to the islands was the 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.
Earthquake hazards
The islands are located along the Queen Charlotte Fault, an active transform fault that produces significant earthquakes every 3–30 years. The fault is the underwater meeting of the Pacific and North American Plates along the archipelago's west coast. The most recent earthquakes were on Nov 17th 2009.
Culture
Visual arts
The artwork known as Spirit of Haida Gwaii, by Bill Reid, is featured on the reverse of the Canadian $20 bill. 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 mainland British Columbia are 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
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
Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Charlotte_Islands
