Chaatl

Chaatl
Ttsaa'ahl
Historic Haida village
Chaatl is located in British Columbia
Chaatl
Chaatl
Location of Chaatl in British Columbia
Coordinates: 53°6′28″N 132°31′36″W / 53.10778°N 132.52667°W / 53.10778; -132.52667[1]
Country Canada
Province British Columbia
Haida NationHaida Gwaii

Chaatl, also spelled Cha'atl, Tsaa'ahl, Tts’aa’ahl, and other variations,[2][3] was a historic Haida village located on the shore of Chaatl Island, facing south across Buck Channel to the western side of northern Moresby Island,[4] near the western end of Skidegate Channel, Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada.[5] Across Buck Channel from Chaatl was the long-abandoned village site of Niisii.[6] There were close connections between Chaatl and the nearby village of Kaisun, about 10 km (6.2 mi) to the south in a straight line, or about 20 km (12 mi) by water.[7][5]

Chaatl is within the Daawuuxusda Conservancy.[8][9]

According to John R. Swanton, Chaatl is the village written as Kow-welth by John Work in his list and census of towns conducted around 1836–41. Work described Chaatl as having 35 houses and 561 inhabitants. The Haida told Swanton that there had been a great fire in Chaatl sometime after 1878, which destroyed a large part of the town. Evidence of 25 house sites was found during surveys done in 1968 and 1970, verified by photographs from about 1900.[10][5][1]

  1. ^ a b "Chaatl". BC Geographical Names.
  2. ^ Bringhurst, Robert (2011). A Story as Sharp as a Knife: The Classical Haida Mythtellers and Their World; Volume 1 of Masterworks of the classical Haida mythtellers. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre. pp. 22–33. ISBN 978-1-55365-890-0. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  3. ^ "Chaatl Island". BC Geographical Names.
  4. ^ "Buck Channel". BC Geographical Names.
  5. ^ a b c MacDonald, George F. (1989). Chiefs of the Sea and Sky: Haida Heritage Sites of the Queen Charlotte Islands. University of British Columbia Press. pp. 22–25. ISBN 9780774803311. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  6. ^ "The Hidden Totems of Ts'aa.ahl". Haida Tourism. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  7. ^ "The Historic Site of Kaysuun". Haida Tourism. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  8. ^ "Daawuuxusda Conservancy". BC Geographical Names.
  9. ^ "Daawuuxusda Conservancy". BC Parks. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference CMH was invoked but never defined (see the help page).