The Queen Charlotte Islands , arguably some of the most beautiful and diverse landscapes in the world, are nestled under the Alaska panhandle and have been the ancestral home of the Haida people for 8,000 years. The unique geographical landscape of Haida Gwaii make for an exceptional site for the LUCID project, allowing teachers from a number of schools in School District 50 to participate in the project.
The History of Queen Charlotte Islands
According to Haida legend, Haida Gwaii, as it is now known - is the place where time began. There is an older name for this place, a name that comes from the mists of time and seems to be the most appropriate name of all: Xhaaidlagha Gwaayaai - Islands at the Boundary of the World.
There are 1,884 islands in the archipelago, a mixture of snow-top mountains and fiords that plunge into the sea, mist-enshrouded forests and windswept sandy beaches. The seven largest of the islands are - from north to south - Langara, Graham, Moresby, Louise, Lyell, Burnaby , and Kunghit Island .
Haida Gwaii - islands of the people - has been home to the Haida people for as long as oral history and archaeology have recorded occupation of the islands - at least 7,000 years. At least 14,000 people have lived in over 126 known village sites. Following first contact with Europeans, the population plummeted to 589 by 1911, all resident in either Skidegate or Old Masset. Today, the Queen Charlottes are much less populated than they were a century ago when Haida communities thrived along the shores. Today, two out of three Haida live off-island, many of whom are planning to return.
The islands were the first place in British Columbia discovered and recorded by Spanish explorer Juan Perez in July 1774. Fur traders followed a decade later and were the only visitors for the next 100 years, with a major impact on Haida culture. In the 18th and 19th centuries the area was a thriving fur trading centre, as the Europeans arrived in huge sailing ships to trade in the Haida villages.
The islands were named after HMS Queen Charlotte, Lord Howe's flagship named in honour of Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III. Dispatched by King George's Sound Company to trade in sea otter furs between the Pacific coast of America and China , Captain George Dixon named the islands after his vessel in the summer of 1787.
The main centers are Masset, Old Massett, Port Clements, Tlell, Skidegate, Queen Charlotte City , and Sandspit. The small village of Masset is the largest town on the Queen Charlotte Islands with a population of aproximately 1400. Located a few kilometres south of the Haida village of Old Masset , at the northern end of Graham Island , Masset is the northern gateway to Naikoon Park . The Haida community of Skidegate, on the shores of Rooney Bay , was known for years as Skidegate Mission. Located 2km north of the ferry terminal at Skidegate Landing, Skidegate is the cultural centre of the Haida.
The Queen Charlotte Islands is largely a resource-based economy. The main industries are logging, commercial fishing, mining, and tourism. The local economy is heavily dependent upon the forest industry. Salmon, herring, halibut, black cod, and crabs are the main products in commercial fisheries. In addition to these industries, employment is also high in the service industries and government.
Haida Nation
The
Haida Nation is made up of two member bands: Old Massett Village
Council and Skidegate Band Council. The Haida Nations have been
historically divided into two social groups, or moieties, called Raven
and Eagle. The Raven moiety was subdivided into twenty-two lineages, or
families, and the Eagle moiety into into twenty-three; the lineages
were not grouped into clans. Marriages had to take place between Eagles
and Ravens, rather than those who belonged to the same moiety, and
children became members of the same moiety as their mother.
The
mythology of the Haida, like that of other tribes on the central and
northern coast, is based on the epic cycle of stories about the Raven
and his various exploits. The Raven is truly a trickster who liberates
humankind from a clamshell, then in one story sets the universe in
order, only to threaten it with chaos in the next. The Raven is the
most greedy, mischievous and lecherous creature imaginable, but almost
without meaning to, teaches humans the arts of living a good life.
Haida artist Charles Edenshaw alone could recount several hundred
different Raven stories from memory.
Information taken from <http://www.civilization.ca/aborig/haida/haindexe.html>
School District No. 50
School District No. 50
is located on the Queen Charlotte Islands off the northeastern coast of
British Columbia . The total population of the islands is only 5,500,
located in half-a-dozen small communities, primarily on the northern
island ( Graham Island ). The School District has a total of 7 schools
(3 elementary and 3 secondary) serving approximately 850 students in
2003/04 from Kindergartner to Grade 12. The Haida Nation comprises
about 40% of the inhabitants of the islands, but Haida children
presently constitute 56% of the school enrolment.
Vonnie
Hutchingson and Vickie Ives are the project leaders for Queen Charlotte Islands and coordinate the teachers from participating schools.
