Haida Gwaii
| Haida Gwaii | ||
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| Waters | Pacific Ocean | |
| Geographical location | 53 ° 15 ′ N , 132 ° 10 ′ W | |
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| Number of islands | approx. 200 | |
| Main island | Graham Island and Moresby Island | |
| Total land area | 10,180 km² | |
| Residents | 4761 (2008) | |
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Haida Gwaii (officially Queen Charlotte Islands until 2009 ) is a group of islands off the coast of British Columbia (Canada). It consists of the two main islands Graham and Moresby Island as well as 200 smaller islands.
Surname
The colonial name of the islands Queen Charlotte Islands was coined by Captain George Dixon , after his ship, the Queen Charlotte , which in turn was named after Queen Sophie Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz , the wife of King George III. of Great Britain . Since December 11, 2009, the islands are officially called Haida Gwaii after the indigenous people living there .
Flora and fauna
A large number of rare and endemic animal species live on the islands , such as the largest subspecies of the American black bear ( Ursus americanus carlottae ). Many tree species such as the coastal pine , the American red alder and the giant arborvitae are native here.
Three parks are maintained on the islands, the 69.166 km² Naikoon Provincial Park and the Gwaii Haanas National Park , which occupies the south of Moresby Island. The latter consists of 138 islands and extends over a total area of around 1500 km². There is also the Pure Lake Provincial Park 15 km north of Masset, and the Delkatla Wildlife Sanctuary , a sanctuary for more than 140 species of birds. Haida Gwaii has some of the largest breeding colonies of the silver alke . Individual colonies comprise more than 100,000 breeding birds. The Aleutian alks are also very numerous . It was originally very numerous on Langara Island, one of the northernmost islands of Haida Gwaii. Rats introduced to this island caused these breeding colonies to die out. Efforts are currently being made to make this island rat-free again. However, a major threat to all ground-breeding birds on this island are raccoons , which were introduced to this island.
Population and places
About half of the approximately 5000 inhabitants belong to the Haida , one of the Indian tribes known as First Nations in Canada .
One of the two larger places on the islands is Masset . It is located on the Masset Sound of Northern Graham Island. The place was made a city in 1961 and is the largest municipality with about 900 inhabitants. Originally the place was called Graham City, but soon it was called New Masset, in contrast to the Haida village of Old Masset. The place represents the northern entrance to Naikoon Provincial Park . St. Paul's Anglican Church and the Old Schoolhouse (from 1912) are probably the oldest buildings.
Not far from Masset is Old Masset - on the east bank of the Masset Inlet. Also known as Haida, the place has three older settlements. The approximately 600 residents are mostly Haida.
The town of Port Clements , also with around 600 inhabitants , on the northeast bank of the Masset Inlet, was founded in 1907. Its name goes back to Herb S. Clements, a local MP.
Tlell is a Haida village with about 370 inhabitants. It is the northernmost of the east coast of Graham Island and is on the southeast boundary of Naikoon Provincial Park . It is considered the most interesting artist community on the islands.
Skidegate (around 700 inhabitants) is one of the two cultural centers of Haida. Skidegate Landing is 2 km away and has ferries to Prince Rupert and Alliford Bay on Moresby Island.
Queen Charlotte (linguistically often Queen Charlotte City ), almost a city with 1250 inhabitants, has been largely preserved. The Premier Hotel, the old schoolhouse, sawmills and numerous private houses give an impression of the settlements around 1900.
There is only one road to the west coast that reaches the cliffs at Rennell Sound.
Sandspit is the only place on Moresby Island besides Moresby Camp. Almost 600 people live here. The place is only connected to Skidegate Landing on Graham Island via Alliford Bay . Gwaii Haanas National Park can only be reached by plane, helicopter or boat. The Pallant Creek Hatchery , about 45 kilometers southwest of Sandspit, produces various salmon species.
history
At the end of the last ice age , the Hecate Strait , which now separates the islands from the mainland, was dry. Only around 8000 BC The rising sea level filled it with water. In the transition zone between sea and land, tools from the time immediately after the ice retreated were found.
The Haida went to the Pacific very early and used the very small stone blades known as microblades . They were mostly made from obsidian , a type of glass of volcanic origin that came from the mainland. While the artifacts from around 5000 BC Still very different from those on the mainland, those from the time around 1000 BC. B.C. to around B.C. of birth - probably through robbery and trade contacts - already become more similar to those of the Tlingit and Tsimshian . When the first Europeans reached the islands in the late 18th century, the Haida had long been considered feared warriors from Alaska to California .
The Haida consisted of two social groups, the Moietys , called raven and eagle. They were made up of a total of 45 lineages , although in an older phase each family probably lived in its own village. Marriage was only possible between the Moietys, with the children belonging to the mother's Moiety.
Some chiefs' houses could accommodate over 100 people. Any lineage could submit to such a chief. The head of a place presided over the wealthiest and most recognized lineage, but a warrior could overtake him. So there was a fierce rivalry between Chief Ninsingwas and Chief Skidegate.
The potlatch , the most important festival , showed the hierarchy and the priority of honor in public . These festivals made the most important events such as marriage, naming or death visible, or the erection of a totem pole or a house. The potlatch also served to distribute the wealth of the upper class to those who had limited access to the islands' resources.
With the severe smallpox epidemic of 1862 , the population collapsed.
On August 22, 1949 at 8:01 am ( PDT ), the island was shaken by the earthquake off the Queen Charlotte Islands , which reached a magnitude of 8.1 and was the strongest reliably measured earthquake in Canadian history. It had its epicenter east of Graham Island in the Queen Charlotte Fault .
The Haida began to systematically map their cultural artifacts in 2003. One of the main goals was to create a map of the Culturally Modified Trees , which, thanks to methodological advances, represent one of the most important sources for the early history of non-scripted cultures.
On October 27, 2012 at 8:04 p.m. ( PDT ), the Haida Gwaii Islands were hit by another earthquake, this time with a magnitude of 7.7 on the moment magnitude scale, the second strongest earthquake ever recorded in Canada. The epicenter of the Haida Gwaii earthquake this time was east of Moresby Island .
Museums
The Port Clements Museum in the town of the same name offers an insight into the lives of settlers and lumberjacks.
In the private Ed Jones Haida Museum in Old Masset, there are historical photographs and artifacts as well as Haida art and some totem poles.
The Council of the Haida Nation (CHN) was founded in 1980. The Haida Heritage Center in Qay'llnagaay (Sea Lion Town), started in 2000, was completed in January 2007. The six stakes erected first represent the six villages, which in turn correspond to six clans. In 2006 the name was changed to "Kaay Llnagaay" by the SHIP Haida Language Program .
The abandoned village of Ninstints on Anthony Island (SGang Gwaay Llnagaay) was classified as a World Heritage Site in 1980 . The town, which was abandoned shortly after 1880 by up to 300 inhabitants, dates back around 2000 years. The numerous totem poles became known. Some of the longhouses were still in great condition in 1980. During a visit in the summer of 2017, only weathered remains of longhouses and totem poles were found on Anthony Island. The well-preserved cultural assets were secured for museum purposes.
Famous Haida artists were Charles Edenshaw and Bill Reid . The latter, whose mother was a Haida, further developed the art of the Haida. Haida art is known for its masks and carvings and the often used design element ovoid .
literature
- Charles Lillard: The Ghostland People. A documentary history of the Queen Charlotte Islands, 1859–1906. Sono Nis Press, Victoria 1989, ISBN 1-55039-016-3 .
Web links
- Haida Gwaii ( English, French ) In: The Canadian Encyclopedia .
- Site Canada - British Columbia, German
- Site of Naikoon Provincial Park
- Site of the Gwai Haanas National Park
- Ski gate
Remarks
- ^ Session at which Haida and the British Columbia government restored the name of the archipelago
- ↑ It's official. It's Haida Gwaii! (No longer available online.) In: QCI Observer. December 11, 2009; Archived from the original on December 30, 2011 ; accessed on May 24, 2010 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ See page from Parks Canada: Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site ( memento of the original from January 16, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
- ^ Anthony J. Gaston and Ian L. Jones: The Auks . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1998, ISBN 0-19-854032-9 , p. 216
- ^ Anthony J. Gaston and Ian L. Jones: The Auks . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1998, ISBN 0-19-854032-9 , p. 228 and p. 230
- ↑ Website of the place and museums of the place ( Memento of the original from September 13, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ The M8.1 Haida Gwaii (formerly Queen Charlotte Islands) Earthquake of August 22, 1949. Natural Resources Canada , March 11, 2019, accessed August 25, 2020 .
- ↑ Earthquake details. Natural Resources Canada , March 11, 2019, accessed August 25, 2020 .
- ↑ The piles show [1] on different sites
- ↑ The reason can be found here ( PDF ; 172 kB).
- ↑ Haida Gwaii 2017 Visitors Guide p. 32, own observations
- ↑ Personal communication from the local watchman
