| S'G̱ang Gwaay Llnagaay | |
|---|---|
| Ninstints | |
 Haida village of S'G̱ang Gwaay Llanagaay | |
 Interactive map of S'G̱ang Gwaay Llnagaay | |
| Location | Haida Gwaii,North Coast of British Columbia,Canada |
| Coordinates | 52°05′56″N131°13′03″W / 52.098889°N 131.2175°W /52.098889; -131.2175 |
| Official name | Nan Sdins National Historic Site |
| Designated | 1981-01-15 |
| Official name | SG̱ang Gwaay |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | iii |
| Designated | 1981(5thsession) |
| Reference no. | 157 |
| Region | Europe and North America |
  Location of S'G̱ang Gwaay Llnagaay in British Columbia | |
SG̱ang Gwaay Llnagaay ("Red Cod Island"), commonly known by its English nameNinstints, is a village site of theHaida people and part of theGwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site onHaida Gwaii on theNorth Coast of British Columbia, Canada.
The village site is aUNESCO World Heritage Site,[1][2] as well as CanadianNational Historic Site[3] and National Marine Conservation site.[4]
The name of the village site,SG̱ang Gwaay Llnagaay, is the Haida name forAnthony Island, where the village is located and means "Red Cod Island."[5] During the late 18th and early 19th centuries the village was referred to asKoyahs orCoyahs, also renderedQuee-ah, after the chief at the time,Koyah. The name "Ninstints," also spelled "Nan Sdins," was the name of the most powerful of the village's chiefs in the mid-19th century and came to be used as the village's name as a result of the practice of ship captains referring to villages by the name of the headman or chief at the location.[6]
The village was one of the southernmost of Haida villages, located in a sheltered bay on the east side of the island,[7] just west of and facingKunghit Island, the southernmost large island in the archipelago. It is small but also the most secluded and protected major Haida settlement because of its location on a sheltered rocky bay.[8] SG̱ang Gwaay llnagaay is the earliest recorded village in the southern archipelago.[9]
SG̱ang Gwaay Llnagaay today features the largest collection of Haidatotem poles in their original locations, all of which are celebrated as great works of art, though Haida are allowing them to succumb to the natural decay of the lushtemperate rainforest climate. Images of the ruins of SG̱ang Gwaay Llnagaay are emblematic of Haida culture and of Haida Gwaii and are featured in tourism promotions for the islands and the province at large. The site is extremely remote, and access is only by sea or air from towns in the northern part of the islands. To protect the valuable Haida Heritage Sites, Haida operate a Watchmen program, stationing Haida at traditional village sites throughout Haida Gwaii including withinGwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site. The Watchmen ensure that visitors are acting in an appropriate manner and maintain a presence on their traditional territories.[10]
Archaeological evidence shows that Haida Gwaii has been inhabited for at least 10,000 years,[11] with territories of theHaida extending North into Southern Alaska.[8] The village site dates back to at least 360 CE.[12]
The people of SG̱ang Gwaay llnagaay are sometimes referred to as the Kunghit Haida. The Kunghit Haida occupied the southern portion of the archipelago of Haida Gwaii, with territory stretching fromLyell Island to the farthest southern tip of the archipelago. They had approximately two dozen permanent villages, as well as other smaller seasonal settlements located near major resource areas.[8]: 2 Early records of Haida testimony recorded byJohn R. Swanton place the number of long houses at twenty.[8]: 4–7
Larger Kunghit Haida villages had as many as seventeen or more longhouses, with village populations ranging from less than two hundred to more than five hundred.[8]: 6 The last chief to be born in Ninstints, whose English name is Thomas Price, was a noted and highly artistic carver of Haida art, notably inargillite.[8]: 51
SG̱ang Gwaay Llnagaay was the location of several notable episodes in the early history of European contact and trade with the Haida. At the outset of themaritime fur trade, the village was visited in 1787 byGeorge Dixon, who noted the Haidas who met them at sea were eager to trade withsea otter fur. This marked the initially amicable trade relations, where SG̱ang Gwaay Llanagaay was visited once again in 1788 byCharles Duncan, and twice in 1789 – first byRobert Gray then by his partnerJohn Kendrick later that year, at which point the trade relationship turned hostile.[8]: 43
In the decades which followed, the trade relationship improved between the Haida and European traders in the area. Because of this, and the diseases that ravaged the villages, many moved to economic hubs such asMasset,Skidegate, and as far asVictoria to take advantage of this growing relationship.[8]: 47
For those who remained at SGang Gwaay Llanagaay, their population was greatly reduced by the1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic. In the succeeding years, the population continued to decline due to other introduced diseases. By 1875 the site was used primarily as a camp,[8]: 47 and by 1878 all the remaining people of SGang Gwaay Llanagaay had all moved to Skidegate.[13]
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