Heiltsuk People - Culture and History

Culture and History

Ancestors of the Heiltsuk have been in the central coat region of British Columbia since at least 7190 BCE. The Heiltsuk are the descendants of a number of tribal groups who came together in Bella Bella in the 19th century. Their first contact with Europeans was most likely in 1793, and the name "Bella Bella" dates back to 1834. They generally refer to themselves as Heiltsuk. As with many other Nations on the coast they were subject to drastic population loss as a result of introduced diseases and heightened military conflicts with neighbouring peoples during the fur trade era.

Heiltsuk culture has been and is known for its ceremonial, military and artistic skills. As the fur trade began they also became known as skilled traders. Highly skilled in canoe making and later ship building, a number of trading schooners were made in Bella Bella by the canoe makers who had learned to make western style vessels. For a time they acted as middlemen in the fur trade, benefiting from early access to guns. The traders complain in some of their records of the Heiltsuk being hard to trade with, passing off land otter skins for sea otter, demanding extra large blankets, then cutting them to standards size for re-trade and sewing the extra pieces together to make more blankets.