There are many Coastal Communities located in the south, central and northern coastal sections of the Coast of BC. Some of these are small villages, while others are cities with all the amenities that can be found within large centers. They are all located in one of the most beautiful rainforests in the world.
Prince Rupert, Powell River, and Squamish are a few of the larger Coastal Communities. These are cities that come with all the big city lifestyles, and then you will find the villages like Bella Coola, Bella Bella, Shearwater, Terrace, and so many more. Some of these smaller villages only have a few folks left, but they all come with such exciting histories.
Alert Bay
Alert Bay, one of BC’s Coastal Communities, is on the sheltered south side of Cormorant Island, just offshore from Port McNeil along the shores of Vancouver Island’s Inside Passage. This area is known for its bird watching, whale watching, and hiking opportunities. There are about 1300 people here on this tiny Island. The Bay is a quaint little place filled with locally-owned shops and restaurants where you can buy local art or dine on some pretty awesome food. Read More….
Bella Bella
The Heiltsuk First Nation lives in the village of Bella Bella (Waglisla), located about 160 km north of Port Hardy and about 120 km west of Bella Coola. The Heiltsuk traditionally occupied 21000 square km of land and sea on B.C.´s coastal Inside Passage. Bella Bella is the Government name for the community, Waglisla is the largest of the 23 reserves set aside in 1913 for the exclusive use of the Heiltsuk. Read More….
Hartley Bay
Up along the north coast, at the mouth of Douglas Channel, you will find Hartley Bay. It is about 150 km from Prince Rupert. It is a First Nations community of 200 and is only accessible by water or air. Hartley Bay is home to the Gitga’ata, who are members of the Tsimshian Nation. Read More….
Lund
The Lund area was inhabited for thousands of years by the Tla’amin Nation. It was a place of plenty where they enjoyed an abundance of wild foods of all kinds, which allowed them to develop a rich culture. Their hereditary territory spanned the northern portions of the Sunshine Coast. They are people of the sea. Tla’amin villages were located along the coast and throughout Desolation Sound. Lund’s name is Klah ah men. Read More….
Port Clements
Before contact, Port Clements was used by the Haida people as a fishing site; they would camp here while the salmon were running. The First Nations’ history is strong in this part of Haida Gwaii, with the many permanent and temporary camps and village sites that can be found in Masset Inlet. The village is right in the inlet, and Masset is located at the place where Masset Inlet meets the sea. Up at the white creek trail, you will find Grouse Creek, where many First Nations artifacts have been dug up. Read More….
Powell River
The city of Powell River (tiskʷat) is the largest community on the Sunshine Coast with a resident population of approximately 14000. There are an additional 6,000 or more people who live within the surrounding Regional District. The City is located on the traditional territory of the Tla’amin Nation. Read More….
Prince Rupert
Prince Rupert is known as the City of Rainbows. It is also known as the rainiest city in Canada. It is an important port for ferries, cruise ships, and trade. There are billions of dollars worth of goods shipped through the port annually. Read More….
Shearwater
The community of Shearwater was originally built as an antisubmarine base in 1941. It was during the Second World War, and defences were being built all along the coast of BC. In 1944, they abandoned the base. Soon after, it was purchased and transformed into a fishing resort with a full-service marina. There was also a restaurant and a motel. There are around 100 full-time residents in Shearwater, and the number is growing. Read More….
Some of these towns and villages of Coastal Communities have become ghost towns, although they at one time were filled with people, places like Ocean Falls, Blunden Harbour, and many others. These places are great to explore and are filled with stories that can still be seen by using some imagination.
My work as a logger and then as a forestry contractor during my younger years allowed me to travel to many of these communities and to spend some time getting to know the folks who lived there and to hear firsthand their stories of life on the coast. The tales they told were of a life filled with epic adventures of time spent in the logging camps, and maybe they were embellished with some half-truths, but they still told the tales of people who were a different breed, tough individuals who carved out homes in the wilderness.
So come on and take a journey with me as we travel back to these places to find out how things are today and to hear the stories of the days of old and tales of the men who logged, fished, and farmed along our coast.
Alert Bay is on the sheltered south side of Cormorant Island, just offshore from Port McNeil along the shores of Vancouver Island’s Inside Passage. This area is known for its bird watching, whale watching, and hiking opportunities.
There are about 1300 people here on this tiny Island. The Bay is a quaint little place filled with locally-owned shops and restaurants where you can buy local art or dine on some pretty awesome food.
Come stay for a few days at one of the island’s great little B&B establishments and hike around the island. There are motels, inns, lodges, cabins, and hotels for visitors to stay in.
Drop into the Alert Bay Visitor Center, it’s just a short walk along the boardwalk from the ferry dock. They will provide you with information brochures. Ask for the Visitor’s Information package, an essential guide to the island. The Visitor Center is open weekdays year-round and on weekends during the summer months. Alert Bay is one of our Coastal Communities.
The Heiltsuk First Nation lives in the village of Bella Bella (Waglisla), located about 160 km north of Port Hardy and about 120 km west of Bella Coola. The Heiltsuk traditionally occupied 21000 square km of land and sea on B.C.´s coastal Inside Passage. Bella Bella is the Government name for the community, Waglisla is the largest of the 23 reserves set aside in 1913 for the exclusive use of the Heiltsuk. The village located on Campbell Island is amalgamated from all Heiltsuk tribes who occupied numerous large winter and spring villages and associated campsites spread throughout this traditional territory.
There are approximately 1500 residents in Waglisla. The primary industries for the Heiltsuk economy are forestry and seasonal fisheries, including shellfish, groundfish, herring, salmon, and other marine resources. For many decades, Heiltsuk people have had a thriving fishery to rely upon with employment in commercial fishing, fish processing, and a salmon hatchery. Due to dramatic changes in the fishery in the past several years, the entire fishing-based economy is now extremely fragile and threatens this traditional way of life.
Many artists in the Coastal Communities do quite nicely with the tourist trade, and Eco-tourism is gaining popularity with the Great Bear Forest being the biggest draw. The chance to see a spirit bear is very exciting to these new-breed tourists. Whale watching and diving are two other burgeoning industries that are becoming common in the area.
Basketball is easily the most popular recreational pastime in Bella Bella due to its all-year-round playing season following the construction of the new Community Hall. The men and women travel year-round to numerous tournaments along the coast. The Charles Moody Memorial presents its annual tournament locally every January. Charlie Moody is my wife’s grandfather.
In 1993, my family and l travelled to Waglisla, one of our Coastal Communities. We had come for the Qatuwas, a gathering of the peoples of the canoe. People arrived from as far away as Alaska and California; people arrived by canoe in the thousands. The gathering was 7 days long, and each night there was a feast presented by one of the nations gathered there, followed by traditional dances telling stories of days gone by. The nation doing the feast danced all night, sometimes the nights would go on until daylight, with dancing still happening. It was incredible.
On the last night, at the end of the traditional dancing, a huge dance screen was set up and much music from the hit TV program was there, playing modern dance videos and music, which was for the youth in the village. It was quite surreal as most of these youths were still in their regalia, but now we’re dancing to modern music and songs. Hundreds of teenagers, in regalia, dancing to the likes of Peter Gabriel and Tom Petty, l will never see something like this again. Visit Our Coastal Communities.