# Skidegate
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> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Skidegate.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skidegate
> Source revision: 1345987577
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
{{Use Canadian English|date=February 2026}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name = Skidegate
| native_name = Hlg̱aagilda
| native_name_lang = hai
| settlement_type = [First Nation reserve](/source/Indian_reserve)
| motto =
| 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](/source/Haida_Gwaii)
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = Canada
| subdivision_type1 = [Province](/source/Provinces_and_territories_of_Canada)
| subdivision_name1 = [British Columbia](/source/British_Columbia)
| subdivision_type2 = [Region](/source/Regions_of_Canada)
| subdivision_name2 = {{langr|hai|[Haida Gwaii](/source/Haida_Gwaii)}}
| subdivision_type3 = [Regional district](/source/Regional_districts_of_British_Columbia)
| subdivision_name3 = [North Coast](/source/North_Coast_Regional_District)
| subdivision_type4 =
| subdivision_name4 =
| government_footnotes =
| government_type = [Band government](/source/Band_government)
| governing_body = [Skidegate Band Council](/source/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_footnotes =
| area_total_km2 = 5.65
| area_land_km2 =
| area_water_km2 =
| population_as_of = 2016
| population_footnotes = [{{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}}]
| population_note =
| population_total = 837
| population_density_km2 = 138.3
| timezone = [PST](/source/Pacific_Standard_Time)
| 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 =
| elevation_m = 28
| postal_code_type =
| postal_code =
| area_code =
| blank_name = [Highways](/source/List_of_British_Columbia_provincial_highways)
| blank_info = {{jct|state=BC|TCH|16}}
| blank1_name = Waterways
| blank1_info = [Hecate Strait](/source/Hecate_Strait)
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
'''Skidegate''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|k|ɪ|d|ᵻ|ɡ|ᵻ|t}} ({{langx|hai|'''Hlg̱aagilda'''}})[{{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 }}] is a [Haida](/source/Haida_people) community in {{lang|hai|i=unset|[Haida Gwaii](/source/Haida_Gwaii)}} in [British Columbia](/source/British_Columbia), Canada. It is on the southeast coast of [Graham Island](/source/Graham_Island),[{{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}}] the largest [island](/source/island) in the archipelago, and is approximately {{convert|50|km|mi}} west of mainland British Columbia across [Hecate Strait](/source/Hecate_Strait).
Skidegate, which is on '''Skidegate Indian Reserve No. 1''' and was formerly home to the Skidegate Mission[{{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}}][{{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}}] is also the northern terminal for the [BC Ferries](/source/BC_Ferries) service between Graham Island and Alliford Bay on [Moresby Island](/source/Moresby_Island).
The [Haida Heritage Centre](/source/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}}[[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.] whose name late 18th-century traders in [sea otter](/source/sea_otter) pelts recorded as Skidegate.[G.F. MacDonald,[Skidegate https://www.sfu.ca/brc/virtual_village/haida/skidegate.html] 1983, SFU Bill Reid Centre. Accessed 1 July 2017.] Between 1790 and 1820, the community was a hub for the exploitation of sea otter furs.[[https://web.archive.org/web/20120319145631/http://www.vancouverisland.com/regions/towns/?townID=3732 Skidegate], VancouverIsland.com (Archived link). Accessed 1 July 2017.]
== 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:[{{cite news | title=The totem poles of Haida Gwaii | work=Haida Gwaii | page=30 | publisher=Haida Gwaii Observer}}]
*''T'anuu'llnagaay'' (Tanu) by Giitsxaa
*''Hlknul'llnagaay'' (Cumshewa) by [Gidansda Guujaaw](/source/Gidansda_Guujaaw)
*''HlGaagilda'llnagaay'' (Skidegate) by Norman Price
*''K'uuna'llnagaay'' (Skedans) by [Jim Hart](/source/Jim_Hart_(artist))
*''Ts'aahj'llnagaay'' (Chaatl) by Garner Moody
*''Eagle and Bear Mother'' by Dick Bellis
*''Dogfish'', by [Bill Reid](/source/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](/source/Council_of_the_Haida_Nation)
* [Skidegate Band Council](/source/Skidegate_Band_Council)
* [List of Haida villages](/source/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]
{{Authority control}}
Category:Unincorporated settlements in British Columbia
Category:Haida villages
Category:Graham Island
---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Skidegate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skidegate) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skidegate?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.