Gilakas’la!

We are the Kwiakah Nation, the smallest Indigenous Nation living on the west coast of British Columbia, near Vancouver Island

Our Nation’s history is written into the land and waters of our territory.

This includes the area around Phillips Arm, where ancestors lived for millennia. We see them today in culturally modified trees in our ʔiʔaƛ̓i (forests), traces of fish trap sites, our loxiwe (clam gardens), and old village sites across our territory here. 

It’s our mission today to continue respecting and caring for our land—and our planet—so that it, too, takes care of us. 

WHO WE ARE

Resilient, brave, and visionary for millennia.

We are a Nation of less than 20 people who have been led by munmuntle (Chief Steven Dick) for many decades and guided by the wisdom of our Elders.

We are courageous, giving, and also highly democratic, with a small but involved community that always has a voice in the path our Nation takes.

A beautiful coastal shoreline with trees along the shore, and misty mountains above. There's a bird flying through the mist

News from the Kwiakah Nation

News
The Globe and Mail: New forest management area inside Great Bear Rainforest aims to offset lost revenues with carbon credits
The Globe and Mail: New forest management area inside Great Bear Rainforest aims to offset lost revenues with carbon credits

From The Globe and Mail on May 24, 2024. The province of British Columbia and the Kwiakah First Nation are creating a new management area in the Great Bear Rainforest that will replace commercial logging with a conservation model that generates revenue from other sources, including the sale of carbon credits.

Media Release: Kwiakah First Nation Transitions Tree Farm Licenses Into “Living Tree” Tenures to Establish a Conservation Economy on Their Territory
Media Release: Kwiakah First Nation Transitions Tree Farm Licenses Into “Living Tree” Tenures to Establish a Conservation Economy on Their Territory

After almost a century of witnessing the impacts of industrial logging on their land, the Kwiakah First Nation has signed a tripartite agreement with the Province of BC and Interfor to create the new M̓ac̓inuxʷ Special Forest Management Area (SFMA).

OUR LANDS

Sacred forests that feel like home.

Nestled in our territory are ranges of sacred mountains, nən (grizzly bears) and their cubs, and coastal rainforests as far as the eye can see.

Though parts of these ʔiʔaƛ̓i (forests) remain as beautiful as always, years of logging by others has changed how our forests look. With our Forest Keepers, we have been embarking on several projects that will help us nurse our lands back to health, steward high biodiversity, and keep carbon in the ground.

Lush, untouched forests of green in the foreground, ramping up to one big mountain on the left and a little mountain on the right, all covered in trees. Cloudy sky

OUR WAtERS

Deep rivers and oceans that bring us peace.

Our waters include several rich rivers, inlets, ƛ̓ase (shorelines), and the ocean on the west coast of British Columbia, where our ancestors cultivated loxiwe (clam gardens) and fished for food.

Though many years of unsustainable harvesting by others have changed how our waters look today, we are working on initiatives to understand the baseline of our marine ecosystem today, so we can continue to recover them and create a healthy home for the flora and fauna there. 

This includes our new Centre of Excellence which will catalyze even more research and restoration in our waters.

There's coastal forest and mountains in the background. In the foreground, there's a dark blue river and mudflats around it. Really beautiful!