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Bella Bella (“Waglisla”; Heiltsuk Territory)

View of Bella Bella Waterfront
Bella Bella in 2013 from passing ferry

Heiltsuk territory covers 35 553 square kilometres of land and water. Heiltsuk have lived in their territory since time immemorial.

Old Bella Bella (Q̓ḷ́c)
In 1833, the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) established the Fort McLoughlin trading post at a place known as Q̓ḷc. Heitsuk began moving in around the fort from nearby tribal village sites and the resulting village became known as Bella Bella, then as Old Bella Bella, or ‘Old Town’ after the village relocated to its present location. Heiltsuk tribes amalgamated at Q̓ḷ́c between 1833 and 1891, for ease of trade and commerce and because of the crippling impacts of multiple epidemics. The fort closed in 1843.

New Bella Bella
In 1880, Heiltsuk chiefs reluctantly agreed to allow a Methodist missionary who arrived with a load of lumber to settle in the area. A church and small school were constructed, and Methodist missionaries began living full time in the village. The Heiltsuk started to transition from living in traditional Heiltsuk big houses to European-style homes.

As the village continued to grow, the original site of McLoughlin Bay became too small to accommodate the single-family homes desired by missionaries. The Heiltsuk asked the HBC if they could settle in an area near the village centre, and the request was denied; the HBC insisted the land belonged to the company. It is for this reason that in 1897, the Heiltsuk decided to move their village to an area further north, known as Wágḷísḷa.

A store and postal service established in McLoughlin Bay used the name “Bella Bella” from 1930-1991. This location would later become known as “Old Bella Bella” or “Old Town.” The source of the name stems from the people living in the original settlement, who were referred to as “the Bella Bellas” (Boas Biblias). The word Bella Bella comes from Pḷ́balá—which describes the tapering from the mountain to the ocean across present day Bella Bella.

The building that served as the Bella Bella Post Office eventually moved to Denny Island, then called East Bella Bella. When the post office moved to Denny Island, it kept its name. Eventually, the post office relocated to Shearwater, 4.8 km from Old Bella Bella. For this reason, Shearwater was also previously known as Bella Bella.

There’s small island just north of Bella Bella known as Martin’s Island. A store on Martin’s Island opened a post office called the Campbell Island Post Office.

When Bella Bella finally got a post office in the community, the names “Bella Bella” and “Campbell Island” were already taken. For this reason, the local place name “Wágḷísḷa” was chosen.

Some maps of the area still mistakenly identify Old Bella Bella as being found on Denny Island, when in fact it’s located on Campbell Island. A BC Ferries terminal and fish processing plant are now located at McLoughlin Bay, the location of Old Bella Bella and the original site of the Heiltsuk community.

By 1903, the Heiltsuk were fully relocated to “New Bella Bella,” now known as Bella Bella and also as Wágḷísḷa, which means “river on the beach” in Heiltsuk. 1400 people live in Bella Bella, home of the Heiltsuk Nation.

In 1996, BC Ferries began to run trips from June to September from Port Hardy on northern Vancouver Island to Bella Coola.

The community now has a large general store, library, RCMP station, the Bella Bella medical clinic, a health centre and a Memorial Hospital.

Education facilities include Bella Bella Community School, Heiltsuk College and the Heiltsuk Education Centre. Infrastructure includes an airport, wastewater treatment station, water treatment and a fuel station. There are two churches and many small businesses in Bella Bella.

Bella Bella also possesses an Integrated Resource Management Department, an economic development corporation, a fully functioning fish plant and a fire station. Bella Bella has an established marine emergency response strategy and capabilities.

Canoe Journeys
When British Columbia hosted the Expo ’86 world fair in Vancouver, the province wanted to showcase First Nations peoples and cultures. One of many events honouring this theme included a canoe sea voyage by a crew of Heiltsuk people who paddled from their home of Bella Bella to Vancouver. The journey was hundreds of kilometres and was conducted under the leadership of a Heiltsuk community member.

Three years later, the Heiltsuk took up another challenge—to paddle to Seattle, Washington along with five other ocean-going nations, to join in celebration of Washington State’s 100th anniversary. At this event in 1993, Frank Brown invited all canoe nations to gather in Bella Bella; the Heiltsuk hosted 23 canoes in their community.

The Heiltsuk’s canoe trip to Expo 86, the Paddle to Seattle event in 1989 and the Heiltsuk’s Q̓átuw̓as-People Gathering Together event have resulted in the annual event known as Tribal Journeys or Canoe Journeys, held during the summer months. One community hosts the event and paddlers from other communities make the canoe journey to the location of the host. The host community welcomes approximately 5000 visitors and guests for about five days during the event. The visitors take turns sharing traditional songs and dances. Tribal Journeys has been a deeply meaningful experience for those who participate, both young and old.

Declaration of Title & Rights
On October 28, 2015 the Heiltsuk made a Declaration of Heiltsuk Title & Rights and developed an implementation strategy for the Territory.

Later in  2015, under the direction of the title and rights declaration, the Heiltsuk occupied the Canadian federal government’s local Department of Fisheries and Oceans office for four days to express dissatisfaction with depleted herring stocks in Heiltsuk waters, and exercised their authority over their water and resources to achieve the first joint management agreement with DFO on herring, which still exists today.

Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline
The Canadian federal government approved a moratorium on crude oil tankers in B.C.’s north coast in November 2016, effectively ending the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline initiative. Along with the Gitga’at people of Hartley Bay, the Heiltsuk opposed the pipeline and presented testimony at the federal government’s hearings on the subject.

Coastal Guardian Watchmen Network
The Heiltsuk Nation is a member organization of the Coastal Guardian Watchmen Network, a consortium of Indigenous land and water protectors overseeing stewardship of their protected territories.

Heiltsuk Big house
Opening of the Heiltsuk Big house in October 2019

Heiltsuk Big House
In October 2019, the Heiltsuk Big house known as Haíɫzaqv λiác̓I was completed. The construction and opening of the Big house was a landmark accomplishment for the Heiltsuk people, and was celebrated for six days.

Plane

Pacific Coastal Airlines offers flights to Bella Bella from a variety of destinations.

Boat

Port Hardy to Bella Bella: BC Ferries offers sailings to Bella Bella (McLoughlin Bay) from Bear Cove on northern Vancouver Island, a ten minute drive from Port Hardy. The trip is a non-stop six hour, fifteen minute boat ride.

Prince Rupert to Bella Bella: BC Ferries offers sailings to Bella Bella (McLoughlin Bay) from Prince Rupert. The trip lasts from ten and a half to fourteen hours, depending on the sailing. Some sailings include a stop at Klemtu.

A connector service on Bella Bella provides sailings to Shearwater, Ocean Falls and Bella Coola.

Bella Bella (British Columbia.com)
http://britishcolumbia.com/plan-your-trip/regions-and-towns/cariboo-chilcotin-coast/bella-bella/

Bella Bella—British Columbia Travel and Adventure Vacations
http://britishcolumbia.com/plan-your-trip/regions-and-towns/cariboo-chilcotin-coast/bella-bella/

Bella Bella (Land Without Limits)
https://landwithoutlimits.com/places/great-bear-rainforest/bella-bella/

‘The heartbeat of our community’: Heiltsuk open historic big house (the Narwhal)
https://thenarwhal.ca/the-heartbeat-of-our-community-heiltsuk-open-historic-big-house/

Heiltsuk Nation (Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance)
https://www.ccira.ca/heiltsuk/

Explore more Communities found in the Great Bear Rainforest.