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The early Haida never developed a written language so the only thing we know about their arrival at these islands is what has been handed down through their oral literature and from anecdotal stories told by the white men who first discovered them two hundred years ago. Some historians believe that they came from Asia via the Bering Strait. Others relate a story passed down in the oral ancestral lineage of a great flood in which the people survived by building large rafts on which they waited until the waters subsided.

According to the early 18th century fur traders, the friendly Haida were living in the south at Skungwai (or Ninstints) village and in the north at Cloak Bay, where there was a cluster of villages, including Kiusta, Dadens and Yaku. On Masset Inlet there were the major villages of Masset, Yan and Kayung, and on Skidegate Inlet there was the village of Skidegate. The locations chosen for these settlements protected them from the winter storms that lash the Pacific coast and Hecate Strait.

Today, the four main Haida villages are Masset and Skidegate, both on Haida Gwaii, and Hydaburg and Kasaan, on Prince of Wales. There are also quite a few Haida living in larger towns and cities up and down the Pacific Coast, from Juneau to Ketchikan to Vancouver to Seattle to San Francisco.

Salmon were the mainstay of the Haida diet and was filleted and smoked to keep through the winter, although salmon run only on alternate years on Haida Gwaii. All Haida had access to the rich halibut fishing grounds. The villages on the west coast relied heavily on black cod. Shellfish was readily available, except on the west coast. Seals were caught and slaughtered for their fat. Seal fat was traded for eulachon oil. Used as a food flavoring and medicine, eulachon oil comes from a variety of herring and was in great demand. However, it was not available on Haida Gwaii, necessitating travel to the huge runs on the Nass River on mainland Canada, where the Haida traded for other foods and rare materials that were not available in their homeland. The Haida also hunted indigenous wild meat and gathered bird’s eggs and wild berries.

The Haida developed a highly structured social system. They were a matriarchal society that was divided into two moieties or social groups: the Eagle clan and the Raven clan. The determination as to which clan a person would belong was made in accordance with the line of the mother. You can read more about Haida Society here.

Surrounded by vast forests of ancient cedar and spruce, the Haida built homes constructed of Western Red Cedar. The framework had stout corner posts that supported massive beams and was clad with wide planks. You can read more about Haida Longhouses here. The history, lineage, wealth and status of Haida families was carved on the trunks of red cedar trees. These became known as totem poles. Some of the poles depicted mythical or spiritual creatures, but were never religiously worshiped.

The Haida's ability to travel was also dependent upon the supply of ancient Western Red Cedar. Carved from a single red cedar tree, a Haida canoe could sleep up to 15 adults head to toe, and was propelled by up to 60 paddlers, often both men and women. Like all indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast, the Haida make extensive use of red cedar as a building material; even the bark was used to make armor. Most goods were fashioned from the wood of the Western Red cedar, Nootka Cypress, Western Hemlock and Sitka Spruce. Plant bark and root weavers created an array of clothing including hats, containers and ropes.

The Haida Language

Haida, or Xaat Kíl, is the ancestral language of the Haida people. Read about it here.

The Discussions of Cedar Longhouse of Raven Woman:

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Ancient Haida

Storytelling
Haida Society

Spirits of Nature

Raven

Haida Art

Haida Totem Poles

Haida Canoes

Welcome to the Cedar Longhouse of Raven Woman

Visitors' Plank