EN280 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Haida Gwaii, Haida People, Skidegate
Document Summary
West coast still rugged and unchartered, exception is the northern part: fishing village. East coast: 8 different communities, 5000 people. Two logging communities there before, main attraction is the airport. Skidgate beach and rosepit are two sacred places now, where the clam shell was opened. Between 13,000 and 11,000 years ago, haida people are recognized to have lived on the island. Food was plentiful both on land and in the ocean. Carved wooden canoes were the main source of travel on and around the islands. Spanish contact in 1774, land remained unnamed. British contact 1787, land named queen charlotte. Late 2009, name queen charlotte given back to the crown. With british contact, came disease: from a population of almost. 7,000 at contact, the haida population was diminished to less than 700. These 700 haida people settled in two villages, skidegate and. Run by churches and government of canada. Commercial logging began in the early 20th century.
