{{Use Canadian English|date=February 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}} {{Infobox settlement <!-- Basic info ---------------->| official_name = Skidegate | native_name = Hlg̱aagilda | native_name_lang = hai | settlement_type = First Nation reserve | motto = <!-- images and maps -----------> | image_skyline = Skidegate1.jpg | image_caption = View of the {{lang|hai|Kay Llnagaay}} beach in Skidegate. | pushpin_map = Canada British Columbia | pushpin_label_position = none | pushpin_map_caption = Location of Skidegate in Haida Gwaii <!-- Location ------------------>| subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Canada | subdivision_type1 = Province | subdivision_name1 = British Columbia | subdivision_type2 = Region | subdivision_name2 = {{langr|hai|Haida Gwaii}} | subdivision_type3 = Regional district | subdivision_name3 = North Coast | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = <!-- Politics -----------------> | government_footnotes = | government_type = Band government | governing_body = Skidegate Band Council | leader_title = | leader_name = Skidegate Band Council | leader_title1 = Chief Councillor | leader_name1 = Willard Wilson | established_title = Founded | established_date = 1850 | established_date2 = <!-- Area ---------------------> | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = 5.65 | area_land_km2 = <!--See table @ Template:Infobox Settlement for details on automatic unit conversion--> | area_water_km2 = <!-- Population -----------------------> | population_as_of = 2016 | population_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web|title=Census Profile, 2016 Census|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=5947804&Geo2=CD&Code2=5947&Data=Count&SearchText=skidegate&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&TABID=1|date=2016-02-05}}</ref> | population_note = | population_total = 837 | population_density_km2 = 138.3 <!-- General information --------------->| timezone = PST | utc_offset = −8 | timezone_DST = PDT | utc_offset_DST = −7 | coordinates = {{coord|53|16|02|N|131|59|26|W|region:CA-BC|display=inline,title}} | elevation_footnotes = <!--for references: use<ref> </ref> tags--> | elevation_m = 28 <!-- Area/postal codes & others -------->| postal_code_type = | postal_code = | area_code = | blank_name = Highways | blank_info = {{jct|state=BC|TCH|16}} | blank1_name = Waterways | blank1_info = Hecate Strait | website = | footnotes = }} <!--Infobox ends--> '''Skidegate''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|k|ɪ|d|ᵻ|ɡ|ᵻ|t}} ({{langx|hai|'''Hlg̱aagilda'''}})<ref>{{Cite web|title=FirstVoices: Hlg̱aagilda X̱aayda Kil: words|url=http://www.firstvoices.com/en/Hlgaagilda-Xaayda-Kil/word/fc68f502b9f8e82a/Slatechuck+River|access-date=2012-07-08 }}</ref> is a Haida community in {{lang|hai|i=unset|Haida Gwaii}} in British Columbia, Canada. It is on the southeast coast of Graham Island,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://apps.gov.bc.ca/pub/bcgnws/names/53254.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140226141159/http://apps.gov.bc.ca/pub/bcgnws/names/53254.html|url-status=dead|title=BC Geographical Names|website=apps.gov.bc.ca|archive-date=2014-02-26|access-date=2014-02-26}}</ref> the largest island in the archipelago, and is approximately {{convert|50|km|mi}} west of mainland British Columbia across Hecate Strait.
Skidegate, which is on '''Skidegate Indian Reserve No. 1''' and was formerly home to the Skidegate Mission<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://apps.gov.bc.ca/pub/bcgnws/names/53255.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140226141212/http://apps.gov.bc.ca/pub/bcgnws/names/53255.html|url-status=dead|title=BC Geographical Names|website=apps.gov.bc.ca|archive-date=2014-02-26|access-date=2014-02-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://apps.gov.bc.ca/pub/bcgnws/names/64779.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140226141142/http://apps.gov.bc.ca/pub/bcgnws/names/64779.html|url-status=dead|title=BC Geographical Names|website=apps.gov.bc.ca|archive-date=2014-02-26|access-date=2014-02-26}}</ref> is also the northern terminal for the BC Ferries service between Graham Island and Alliford Bay on Moresby Island.
The Haida Heritage Centre is in Skidegate along the town's eastern boundary.
== Naming == According to tradition, the village was named after an earlier village chief, {{Langx|hai|Sg̱iida-gidg̱a Iihllngas|4=Son of the Chiton|label=none|italic=no}}<ref name="origin1">[http://www.firstvoices.com/en/Hlgaagilda-Xaayda-Kil/word-query-results?q=chiton&btn=Search&archive=Hlgaagilda-Xaayda-Kil&lang=en Hlg̱aagilda X̱aayda Kil, Haida language] at FirstVoices. Accessed 1 July 2017.</ref> whose name late 18th-century traders in sea otter pelts recorded as Skidegate.<ref name="origin2">G.F. MacDonald,[Skidegate https://www.sfu.ca/brc/virtual_village/haida/skidegate.html] 1983, SFU Bill Reid Centre. Accessed 1 July 2017.</ref> Between 1790 and 1820, the community was a hub for the exploitation of sea otter furs.<ref name="origin2"/><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120319145631/http://www.vancouverisland.com/regions/towns/?townID=3732 Skidegate], VancouverIsland.com (Archived link). Accessed 1 July 2017.</ref>
== Totem poles == thumb|left|250px|Houses and totem poles, Skidegate, 1878|alt=Haida longhouses with carved totem poles along the shoreline at Skidegate Inlet, British Columbia, with wooden canoes in the foreground, 1878. Skidegate is home to a number of totem poles:<ref>{{cite news | title=The totem poles of Haida Gwaii | work=Haida Gwaii | page=30 | publisher=Haida Gwaii Observer}}</ref> *''T'anuu'llnagaay'' (Tanu) by Giitsxaa *''Hlknul'llnagaay'' (Cumshewa) by Gidansda Guujaaw *''HlGaagilda'llnagaay'' (Skidegate) by Norman Price *''K'uuna'llnagaay'' (Skedans) by Jim Hart *''Ts'aahj'llnagaay'' (Chaatl) by Garner Moody *''Eagle and Bear Mother'' by Dick Bellis *''Dogfish'', by Bill Reid *''Unity Pole'' *''Chief Skedans Jimmy Wilson Memorial'' by Bert Wilson and Joe Mander *''Strongman'' by Tim Boyko, Skaadgaa Naay elementary school *''Chief Wiiganaad Sid Crosby Naa'uuwans'' (chieftanship) by Tim Boyko and Jason Goetzinger *''Weeping Woman of Taanu'' by Norman Price St *''Chieftanship Pole to Honour Matriarch Barb Wilson'' *''SGang Gwaay'llnagaay'' (Ninstints) by Tim Boyko *''Kaay Watchman's pole''
==See also== {{Portal|Canada}} * Council of the Haida Nation * Skidegate Band Council * List of Haida villages
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20161018114501/http://www.skidegate.ca/ Skidegate website] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20120522184647/http://www.bcferries.com/schedules/inside/absk-current.html BC Ferries schedule for Skidegate–Alliford Bay]
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Category:Unincorporated settlements in British Columbia Category:Haida villages Category:Graham Island