Haida Gwaii

Well, today I’m in Haida Gwaii. I have wanted to come here for a number of years but for someone with limited time it is neither quick nor inexpensive to travel here. Now that I have arrived, however, I know it is a place I must make time to come back to.

The Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii) are an archipelago of between 150 and 200 islands, located off the northwest coast of British Columbia. Tucked under the coastline of islands that form the Alaska panhandle they are 75 km from the American border, approximately 120 km west of the outer islands of the northern BC coastline and 770 km by air from Vancouver, BC.

Tonight I am staying in the Village of Queen Charlotte at the south end of Graham Island – at Gracie’s - to be more specific.

There was some confusion as to whether I was in Queen Charlotte City or the Village of Queen Charlotte. But with a year round population of 1045 people, I guessed the Village moniker was correct. In fact, Queen Charlotte City officially was incorporated as the Village of Queen Charlotte in 2005.

Located along the shoreline of Bearskin Bay in Skidegate Inlet, what is today the Village of Queen Charlotte was founded when the North American Timber Holding Company began to build a sawmill here in early 1908.

This early sawmill ran from 1908 until 1912 and was put into operation again towards the latter part of the First World War to saw clear spruce for aeroplane lumber. It shut down when that market closed.

In 2010 we find that much of the traditional resource based industry is now in decline and a community such as the Village of Queen Charlotte, located in one of the most beautiful places in the world, is looking to tourism to diversify its economy.

I am here for the next two days to look at some projects the Foundation has funded and to learn more about the unique issues posed for housing and land development in a remote resource based community such as this. I'll let you know what I learn.