Gwaii Haanas National Park

Gwaii Haanas National Park
traditional longhouse in Hlk'yah GawGa, built in 1985
Coordinates: 52 ° 22 ′ 50 "  N , 131 ° 28 ′ 20"  W.
Location:	British Columbia , Canada
Surface:	1,470 km²
Founding:	1988
Visitors:	2,819 (2016/2017)
Address:	Gwaii Haanas National Park Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site P.O. Box 37 Queen Charlotte City, BC

The Gwaii Haanas National Park ( English Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site , French Réserve de parc national, réserve d'aire marine nationale de conservation Gwaii Haanas, et site du patrimoine haïda ) is a Canadian National Park established in 1988 in the Pacific Northwest with an area of ​​1470 km². Unlike most other Canadian national parks, it bears the addition of reserve . It arises from other usage rights for the local indigenous peoples .

It covers the south of the Haida Gwaii archipelago , also known as Queen Charlotte Islands, with several hundred islands. The park measures around 90 km from north to south on the islands of Moresby, Lyell, Kunghit and numerous smaller islands. The park has been jointly operated by the Canadian government and the Council of the Haida Nation since 1993 after the ownership rights were disputed . The Haida are the indigenous people of the Queen Charlotte Islands and attach great importance to the preservation of their cultural heritage.

With the national park status, this area was protected from forestry after the Haida protested in 1985 with large-scale blockade actions and direct resistance against the deforestation on Lyell Island. In the course of these demonstrations, many Haida rediscovered their traditional culture, which was also reflected in the fact that the demonstrators together with traditional means built a longhouse at the place of the protest. In 2013, on the 20th anniversary of the joint park administration, Haida and Parks Canada put up a totem pole together, the first new pole in around 130 years.

There are no roads in the park itself; a few settlements can be reached by car in the Haida Heritage Area to the north. There is a ferry and flights from Prince Rupert to Moresby Island . The actual park can only be reached by boat or seaplane. Sea kayaking is a suitable means of transport to and between the many islands . There are no accommodations in the actual park; all visitors who want to do more than one day tour need a boat to sleep on or camping equipment.

The park is an IUCN Category II ( National Park ) protected area .

UNESCO world heritage

S G aang Gwaii
UNESCO world heritage
National territory:	Canada
Type:	Culture
Criteria :	(iii)
Reference No .:	157
UNESCO region :	Europe and North America
History of enrollment
Enrollment:	1981  ( session 5 )

Ninstints (Nan Sdins) on S G aang Gwaii

The island of S G aang Gwaii (Anthony Island), which is part of the national park , was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981 . The abandoned Haida settlement of Ninstints (Nan Sdints) with its 10 ruined houses and 32 totem poles in the middle of rich vegetation is considered the most important cultural site of the Haida. After having existed for several centuries, the settlement, originally inhabited by over 300 people, fell victim to an epidemic in the 1860s. The island, like other Haida cultural sites , is looked after by a group known as the Haida Gwaii Watchmen . On S G aang Gwaii and another island, tents for visitors are not allowed out of respect for the Haida culture.

The entire national park has been on the tentative list of Canada as a candidate for a mixed cultural and natural heritage site since 2004 .

literature

• Thomas King : The inconvenient Indian, illustrated. A curious account of native people in North America. Doubleday Canada , 2017 ISBN 0385690169 Chap. 10: Happy ever after , esp. P. 261 ff. (Depiction of the struggles against the state and the wood industry around 1985, which in the positive end led to the Haida Heritage Site; illustr. Large-format new edition of the non-illustrated first edition from 2013)

Web links

Commons : Gwaii Haanas National Park  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve , on Parks Canada , (English, French)
• Haida Heritage Center
• S G aang Gwaii on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).
• Gwaii Haanas on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website for tentative lists.
• Gwaii Haanas National Park . In: BC Geographical Names (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Parks Canada: Hlk'yah GawGa (Windy Bay)
2. ↑ World Database on Protected Areas - Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve of Canada and Haida Heritage Site (English)
3. ↑ SGang Gwaay. World Heritage Committee , accessed September 6, 2017 . 
4. ↑ Gwaii Haanas. World Heritage Committee, October 1, 2004, accessed September 6, 2017 .