Old Massett Village Council

Old Massett Village Council
Band No. 669
Haida: G̱aw X̱aadée Council Née
PeopleHaida
HeadquartersOld Massett
ProvinceBritish Columbia
Land
Main reserveMasset 1
Other reserve(s)
List
  • Ain 6
  • Cohoe Point 20
  • Daningay 12
  • Egeria Bay 19
  • Guoyskun 22
  • Hiellen 2
  • Jalun 14
  • Kioosta 15
  • Kose 9
  • Kung 11
  • Lanas 4
  • Mammin River 25
  • Meagwan 8
  • Naden 10
  • Owun 24
  • Saouchten 18
  • Susk 17
  • Tatense 16
  • Tiahn 27
  • Tlaa Gaa Aawtlaas 28
  • Yagan 3
  • Yan 7
  • Yasitkun 21
  • Yatze 13
Land area9.7 km2
Population (2024)
On reserve700
On other land64
Off reserve2519
Total population3283
Government
ChiefDonald Edgars
Council
2023–26
  • Lisa Bell
  • Cecil Brown
  • Robert Brown
  • Benjamin Edgars
  • Ashley Jacobson
  • Brodie Swanson
  • Lisa White
Tribal Council
Council of the Haida Nation
Website
oldmassettvillagecouncil.com

Old Massett Village Council (OMVC; Haida: G̱aw X̱aadée Council Née) is a band government of the Haida people, located in Old Massett, on Haida Gwaii. Old Massett Village Council is one of two Canadian band governments for the Haida Nation, the other is the Skidegate Band Council. The main governing body of the Haida people is the Council of the Haida Nation, and as such the two band councils function as village governments.

As of 2024, the band has 3,283 registered members, 700 of whom live on reserve. It has 27 reserves, with a total area of 9.7 square kilometres (2,400 acres). The band is governed by an elected band council, consisting of one Chief and seven councillors, with elections held every three years.

History

Old Massett in the early 20th century


Old Massett was created in the mid 19th century by the consolidation of many northern Haida villages in the wake of the smallpox epidemic of 1862. It was first the location of a Hudson's Bay Company post in 1850, before becoming an Anglican mission in 1876, led by Rev. William H. Collison, and the Haida were defined as Indians under the newly introduced Indian Act. In 1882, the Massett Band was allotted sixteen reserves, which amounted to 752.4 hectares (1,859 acres), by reserve commissioner Peter O'Reilly.

In 1886, Massett was part of the North West Coast Indian Agency, which was headquartered in Metlakatla. In 1910, the North West Coast Agency was subdivided, and Massett and Skidegate became part of the Queen Charlotte Indian Agency, introducing a full-time Indian agent who lived in Old Massett, subjecting the Haida to close government supervision. The band was governed by the Indian agent, with the support of the band council, which consisted of community members. The band council was formed in 1910, and consisted of seven elected community members, most of whom were graduates of the former Anglican missionary school in Metlakatla.

In 1913, band members provided testimony to the McKenna–McBride Commission, rejecting the imposition of reserves and demanding allotments that were equal to those given to other First Nations in the province. The Commission resulted in the allotment of five additional reserves.

In 1966, the Queen Charlotte Agency was combined with the Naas Agency, which was based in Prince Rupert, ending the close oversight by an Indian Agent which had been in place since 1910.

Reserves

Old Massett Village Council has 27 reserves, whose combined total area is 9.7 km2, with the main reserve being Masset 1. The majority of the reserves are located on Graham Island, with 4 located on the nearby Langara Island. Reserves numbered 1-16 were part of the initial allotment by reserve commissioner Peter O'Reilly in 1882. Numbers 17-21 were allotted by Royal Commission in 1916.

List of reserves
No. Name Location Area (hectares)
1 Massett E shore of Masset Inlet below its entry point 299.5
2 Hiellen Mouth of Hiellen River, south of Tow Hill Provincial Park, McIntyre Bay 27.4
3 Yagan at Yakan Point, west of Tow Hill Provincial Park, on McIntyre Bay 34.8
4 Lanas at the mouth of the Yakoun River, Yakoun Bay, SE shore of Masset Inlet 78
5 Satunquin Strathdang Kwun, point on west side of Yakoun Bay, Masset Inlet 3.6
6 Ain N shore of Masset Inlet 66.4
7 Yan W side of entrance to Masset Inlet 106.8
8 Meagwan at Wiah Point, N coast of Graham Island east of Virago Sound 19.8
9 Kose left bank of the Naden River, four miles south of the mouth of Naden Harbour 3.6
10 Naden at mouth of Standly Creek, Naden Harbour 2.6
11 Kung W side of Alexandra Narrows, which connects Naden Harbour and Virago Sound 28.7
12 Danigay W side of Virago Sound 8.5
13 Yatze SE of Klashwun Point, W of Virago Sound 18.2
14 Jalun NW of Nankivell Point, mouth of Jalun River 7.1
15 Kioosta south shore of Parry Passage, site of Kiusta 40.9
16 Tatense SW tip of Langara Island, south of Parry Passage 6.5
17 Susk Peril Bay east of Frederick Island 63.1
18 Saouchten Rooney Point, west side of Masset Harbour 11.4
19 Egeria Bay 10.1
20 Cohoe Point west side of Virago Sound 8.5
21 Yasitkun northwest coast of Langara Island 20.2
22 Guoyskun Rhodeas Point 20.2
23 Naden at mouth of Standly Creek, Naden Harbour 2.6
24 Owun at the mouth of Awun River on Awun Bay, south shore of Masset Inlet 3
25 Mammin River mouth of the Mamin River on Mammin Bay, Masset Inlet 2.5
27 Tiahn Tiany Bay 2.3
28 Tlaa Gaa Aawtlaas 63.7

Demographics

As of December 2024, Old Massett Village Council had 3,295 registered members. 700 members lived on reserve and 2,583 lived off reserve.

Council

The band council comprises eight members, with one chief councillor and seven council members. Elections take place every three years. The 2023–2026 council is:

  • Donald Edgars (Chief Councillor)
  • Lisa Bell
  • Cecil Brown
  • Robert Brown
  • Benjamin Edgars
  • Ashley Jacobson
  • Brodie Swanson
  • Lisa White

References

  1. ^ a b c "First Nation Profiles - Old Massett Village Council". Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. Government of Canada. 2024-05-03. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
  2. ^ "Village Councils". Council of the Haida Nation. 2025-01-25. Retrieved 2025-01-26.
  3. ^ a b Brink, J. H. van den (1974). The Haida Indians : cultural change mainly between 1876-1970. Leiden: E. J. Brill. OCLC 643603137. Retrieved 2025-01-25 – via Internet Archive.
  4. ^ a b c d Stearns, Mary Lee (1981). Haida Culture in Custody: The Masset Band. Seattle: University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0-295-95763-0. OCLC 63179945. Retrieved 2025-01-25 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ a b c Department of Mines and Resources (1943-03-31). Schedule of Indian Reserves in the Dominion of Canada Part 2: Reserves in the Province of British Columbia Recompiled and Corrected up to March 31, 1943 (Report). Ottawa: Government of Canada. pp. 396–403. Retrieved 2024-12-24 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  6. ^ a b Caird, Paula (May 1996). Guide To Indian Bands and Agencies In British Columbia, 1875-1990 (Report). Ottawa: National Archives of Canada. Retrieved 2025-01-25.
  7. ^ "Indian Affairs 1913" (PDF). Haida Laas: Journal of the Haida Nation. Council of the Haida Nation: 4. September 1910. Retrieved 2025-01-25.
  8. ^ Old Massett Village Council (2021). "Chief and Council Governance Manual" (PDF). Old Massett Village Council. p. 5. Retrieved 2025-01-27.
  9. ^ "First Nation Profiles – Old Massett Village Council, Governance". Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. Government of Canada. 2008-11-14. Retrieved 2025-01-27.