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Visitor Centre
A traditional cedar longhouse in the Nisga’a Memorial Lava Bed Provincial Park, Nass Valley BC Canada, serves as an information centre. The striking design on the exterior depicts Gwax Ts’agat (a local super being), as painted by Nisga’a artist Jaimie Davis. The centre displays information on the Nisga’a people and the devastating loss of life from the eruption of the Tseax Cone some time between 1675 and 1780.
The Nisg̱a’a people have lived in the Nass River Valley since before recorded time.
Today, these lands are geographically part of northwestern British Columbia (BC), Canada, roughly in line with the tip of the Alaska Panhandle and only a short distance away as the crow flies. By any other means of transport, they are a long way from anywhere.
The Indigenous Nisg̱a’a share long oral and artistic traditions, and have managed to preserve much of their culture and language. They reclaimed the right to self-governance on May 11, 2000 in a landmark agreement with the BC government that includes land and water resources across roughly 1,992 square kilometers (769 square miles) of the Nass River Valley (see: Nisga’a Treaty).
I had made a short foray into the region on my previous visit to northwestern BC the year before (see: In the North Country). I decided then that I really had to return. So, after visiting a friend near Smithers (see: Stops on BC’s Yellowhead Highway #1), I pointed the car west for two and a quarter hours to to Terrace, then an hour and fifteen north on the Nisga’a Highway to Gitlax̱tʼaamiks (formerly known as New Aiyansh).
In these remote lands, that is the blink of an eye, really!
I booked two nights at a guesthouse near Gitlax̱tʼaamiks, the capital of the Nisga’a Nation. The weather was overcast and drizzly, but I managed glimpses of this unique landscapes. I was able to visit all four of the local villages – and to appreciate some of the art and history.
Come along to some unique locations:
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Are you sure Google Maps?
Shhhh! Don’t tell the car rental company. My accommodation was some way out of town, up a lengthy gravel road. Fortunately, it was well graded.
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Lava Beds and Mountains
Back on the main road, a short detour takes me into the rocky flats that serve as a reminder of that volcanic eruption back in the 18th century. Roughly 2000 people were killed by the fumes and gasses, two villages were buried, and the course of the Nass River was changed.
Welcome to Gitwinksihlkw or Place of the Lizards
Pronouncing some of these place names can be a real challenge for English-speakers! Gitwinksihlkw was formerly known as Canyon City. “Home of Hobiyee” is a reference to the most important day on the Nisga’a calendar: the Nisgaʼa New Year. This is celebrated upon the arrival of the first waxing crescent moon in February or early March.
The Right Totem Pole
Four tall totem poles mark the two ends of the bridge into Gitwinksihlkw.
The Left Totem Pole
The story poles honour the eagle, wolf, raven, and the killer whale.
A Stylized Bird Head
This is either the eagle or the raven; unfortunately, I can’t always tell them apart.
Gitwinksihlkw Suspension Bridge – Ukws-Ts’agat
Until 1995 – when the road bridge was built – suspension pedestrian bridges were the only way of accessing this village. This bridge, built in 1968, spans about 103.3 meters (339 feet) across the Nass River.
Fisherman on the River
On the riverbank, a local fisherman prepares to check his nets. Nisga’a diet is heavily dependent on coastal seafood and freshwater fish.
Totem Poles on the Other Side
As I leave Gitwnksihlkw, I get a view of the other two poles.
Hli Goothl Wilp-Adokshl Nisga’a – “The Heart of Nisga’a House Crests”
The Nisga’a Museum collection is housed in a beautiful building. The carved wooden crests displayed on the boxes in the foreground illustrate the local Nisga’a clans and house groups.
Inside the Museum
The museum contains priceless display of artefacts: many of them reclaimed from collections previously held around the country. The Ancestors’ Collection includes ancestral masks and supernatural figures (nax̱nox).
Eagle Mask
There are many similarities across the Pacific Northwest First Nations’ traditions. This 19th-century eagle transformation mask shares features with those of other groups – including the one that inspired the original logo for the Seattle Seahawks football team.
Carved Bird/Scoop
Remember the ‘Hobiyee’ – the crescent moon? It gets its name from this: a hoobix – the bowl portion of a traditional wooden spoon or ladle. ‘Hobixis hee!’ literally means ‘the moon is in the shape of the hoobix’.
I continue west to the coastal town of Gingolx (historically called Kincolith), the ‘Seafood Capital of the Nass’ for lunch and some waterside walks. (More on that some other time.)
Nature’s Sculpture
On my drive back east along the Nisga’a Highway, I stop to admire some moss-draped twisting trees in the old-growth temperate rainforest.
I Live in Hope!
Although the roadside signposts warn of crossing wildlife, I didn’t actually see any. While bears and deer are common sightings in BC, I have never seen a moose in the wild.
Nisga’a Memorial Lava Beds
I arrive back at the Provincial Park with time to walk the short Crater Creek track into a poignant terrain.
Lava Rocks
The area is buried in basalt rock from the 18th century volcanic eruption of the Tseax Cone. Over time, nature has softened the landscape with a thick blanket of green and yellow mosses and lichens.
Tufted Saxifrage – Saxifraga Cespitosa
Beautiful and tough plants embed themselves in nooks and crannies …
Pacific Stonecrop – Sedum Divergens
… or anchor in the stony gravel.
Fern in the Lava Rock
This park is a sacred site. For the sake of respect, as well as for safety over the the sharp rocks, deviation from the narrow – but relatively easy – track is not allowed.
Wild Rose on the Rocks
Life is slowly returning to this sobering place, where the power of nature can still be seen.
Nisga’a Government Office
Before returning to my room, I stop in the capitol village of Gitlax̱t’aamiks for supplies – and to admire the beautiful poles agains the darkening sky.
I managed to make it back to my guesthouse before the road got too slippery in the early-evening rains.
This truly is a remarkable place, and I was looking forward to exploring further.
Until next time,
Happy Roads!
Photos: 04June2023
