Kitkatla North Coast Regional District, 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. On N side of Dolphin Island, S of Prince Rupert, Range 4 Coast Land District

Mapped Location

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

 

Information

General information on Kitkatla

  • Feature Type: Place

 

Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for Kitkatla

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

Name Description
Kitkatla Official

 

Origin Notes and History of Kitkatla

References to Kitkatla that document the origin of its place name

"Kitkatlah" (Indian Settlement) adopted 6 February 1948 on Hydrographic Services Chart #3747, Browning Entrance. Name and staus chaged to "Kitkatla" (village) 1 May 1952 on Hydrographic Services Chart #3747, "Browning Entrance." Status changed to Post Office 2 July 1959 on Hydrographic Services Chart #3748, "Bonilla Island to Edge Passage." Status changed to Community 14 January 1983 on 103G/16.

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards & correspondence, and/or research by BC Chief Geographer & Geographical Names Office staff, File H.1.44.  |  Province of British Columbia

"Kitkatlah (village)" labelled on BC Map 3M, 1924.

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards & correspondence, and/or research by BC Chief Geographer & Geographical Names Office staff.  |  Province of British Columbia

Kitkatla is the anglicized form of a Tsimshian term that can be translated as “people of the salt” or “those who live by the sea.” The Gitxaala (or Giktxaala) First Nation, who are believed, about 1787, to have been the first members of the Tsimshian cultural group to make contact with European visitors, were often referred to in the fur-trading era as the Sebassa, after the hereditary name of the a prominent chief. Kitkatla village, also known as Lack Klan, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities on the BC coast; its population in the early 2000s was about 450, and commercial fishing was the primary livelihood. Nearby Kitkatla Creek is named for this First Nation as well.

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
Scott, Andrew; "The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names"; Harbour Publishing, Madeira Park, 2009, pages 312-313.  |  Province of British Columbia

Name originated from Kitkatla Nation, now known as Gitxaala Nation. For more information visit https://www.gitxaalanation.com/

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards & correspondence, and/or research by BC Chief Geographer & Geographical Names Office staff.  |  Province of British Columbia

There was once a "Kitkatlah" (Indian Settlement) on nearby Pitt Island, renamed "Sheganny Reserve" (Indian Settlement) 2 February 1948 to avoid duplication and apply the name where the Gitxaala (Kitkatla) Nation was actually located. "Sheganny Reserve" was rescinded shortly after it was adopted because it was said to be abandoned.

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards & correspondence, and/or research by BC Chief Geographer & Geographical Names Office staff, file D.2.52.  |  Province of British Columbia

 

North Coast Regional District

Political Boundaries

Last updated: 2023-09-27