Kitamaat Village Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine, British Columbia

Community - An unincorporated populated place, generally with a population of 50 or more, and having a recognized central area that might contain a post office, store and/or community hall, etc, intended for the use of the general public in the region. E side of Kitimat Arm at head of Douglas Channel, just SE of Kitimat (municipality), Range 4 Coast Land District

Mapped Location

Kitamaat Village: The mapped location is an approximation and should not be used for navigation or wayfinding.

 

Information

General information on Kitamaat Village

  • Feature Type: Place

 

Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for Kitamaat Village

A brief list of names that this geographic feature has been named

Name Description
Kitamaat Village Official

 

Origin Notes and History of Kitamaat Village

References to Kitamaat Village that document the origin of its place name

Kitimat Mission (settlement) adopted 14 June 1946 on 103SE. Name changed to Kitamaat Village (community) 29 March 1976 on 103H/15, at the same location as Haisla Post Office.

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office  |  Province of British Columbia

Kitimat Mission was established on Kitimat Indian Reserve 2 in the 1890's, in a village that their Tsimshian neighbours called "Gitamaat" meaning "people of the snow." The name Kitimat Mission was last used generally in the 1930's, instead it became known locally as Kitamaat Village. The residents call themselves Haisla ("dwellers downriver"). See also Kitimat River.

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office  |  Province of British Columbia

Kitamaat Post Office was opened 1 March 1900, located on IR 2. Name changed to Kitamaat Mission Post Office 1 May 1908. Spelling changed to Kitimat Mission Post Office sometime in December 1908. Kitimat Mission Post Office closed 25 April 1943. To avoid confusion with a 'new' Kitimat Post Office which had been opened in 1952 at the Alcan site at the head of Kitimat Arm, the postal facility opened 5 July 1976 in Kitamaat Village was named Haisla Post Office.

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office  |  Province of British Columbia

Roman Catholic mission established here in the 1890's, with evidence that the church established influence much earlier: "We left Fort Rupert 15 March 1864, crossed to the Mainland, sailed northwards up the coast and reached Kitimat four days later... at Kitimat Father Jean-Marie Le Jacq baptised some children...." (from the journal of Father Leon Fouquet, excerpted in "Cross in the Wilderness" by Kay Cronin; Mitchell Press, Vancouver, 1961, p.103; being a history of the pioneer Oblate Fathers of British Columbia)

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
included with note  |  Province of British Columbia

 

Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine

Political Boundaries

Last updated: 2023-10-01