Skidegate is a small community of 800 people and located on Haida Gwaii, an archipelago off the coast of British Columbia. Skidegate is the ferry landing to & from Prince Rupert on the British Columbia mainland , and is the southern terminus of the Yellowhead Route #16 on Haida Gwai, which continues north to Masset.
Skidegate is known for its traditional Haida art and carving, and for its beautiful location on the shores of Hecate Strait. The Haida Heritage Centre at Kaay Llnagaay is a major tourist attraction and a center for Haida culture and education.
Skidegate History
The history of Skidegate is intertwined with the history of the Haida people, who have lived on Haida Gwaii for thousands of years. The Haida people have a rich and complex culture, with a long tradition of art, storytelling, and carving. They lived in longhouses, built of cedar planks, and had a complex social structure, with chiefs and sub-chiefs, and a strict system of inheritance (which in their culture is matrilineal, inherited from the mother).
In the early 1900s, the Haida people began to reclaim their culture and traditions, and Skidegate became a center for Haida art and carving. In the 1960s, a Haida cultural center was established in Skidegate, which helped to promote Haida culture and bring tourists to the area.
