Haida Gwaii
Haida Gwaii – “Islands of the People” or “Islands at the Boundary of the World” – has been the home for the Haida people for 12,500 years. Named Queen Charlotte Islands by European settler colonialists, today it comprises a 100-mile long swirl of islands, inlets, mountains, forests, rivers, bays, channels and lakes 30-40 miles off the coast of mainland British Columbia and close to Alaska (where Haida also live). The name ‘Queen Charlotte Islands’, was literally returned to the British Columbia premier in an official Giving Back the Name Ceremony in 2010, when it was written on a piece of paper, placed in a traditional cedar bentwood box, and handed over. Haida Gwaii is a special place. Sometimes called the Galapagos of North America for its biological diversity, over half the land and three quarters of the shoreline is protected. The people are special too. Historically a fierce seafaring warrior people with cedar canoes considered the largest and most beautiful in the world...
