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59-497: Kemano was a settlement situated 75 km (47 mi) southeast of Kitimat in the province of British Columbia in Canada . It was built to service a hydroelectric power station, built to provide energy for Alcan to smelt aluminum from its ore. The Kemano Generating Station is built 427 m (1,400 ft) inside the base of Mt Dubose in a blasted cavern. It produces 896 MW of power from its eight generators, each of which has

118-474: A catenary system was built. In three years, 6,000 construction workers built the dam, tunnel, powerhouse, transmission line, smelter, and town. The town of Kitimat was carved out of old-growth forest . The company invested over CA$ 500 million (equivalent to CA$ 3.3 billion) and employed over 35,000 workers over the five years required to build the Kenney Dam, the hydropower plant under Mt. Dubose at Kemano ,

177-470: A 250,000 tpy aluminum smelter, a year-round deepwater port, a townsite designed for a population of 50,000, and a paved highway to the outside world. As a result of this project other companies saw the potential of the area, resulting in further industrial development in the Kitimat valley. On 1 October 2018, Royal Dutch Shell and its Asia partners gave formal approval to an estimated $ 40 billion investment into

236-644: A LNG export terminal with an expected lifespan of 30 years. The terminal, located on the Douglas Channel near the aluminum refinery, would be able to accommodate two LNG vessels at a time. Annual volume would be 24 million tonnes. In July 2014 the Financial Post reported that Apache Corp. will "completely exit" the Kitimat LNG mega-project planned for B.C.'s West Coast. The U.S. hedge fund Jana Partners LLC has pressured Houston-based Apache to sell its 50% stake in

295-451: A capacity of 112MW. The plant comprises a 16 km (9.9 mi) long tunnel, the width of a two-lane highway, drilled and blasted through the coastal mountains to carry water to the penstocks of the Kemano powerhouse. The water plunges 800 m (2,600 ft) to drive the generators. The two 287 kV power transmission lines travel 82 km (51 mi) from Kemano to Kitimat across some of

354-556: A distinct population, the Tsimshian-proper. They continued to share the rights and customs of those who are known as the Gitxsan, their kin on the upper Skeena. The Tsimshian maintained winter villages in and around the islands of Prince Rupert Harbour and Venn Pass (Metlakatla). They returned to their summer villages along the lower Skeena River when the salmon returned. Archaeological evidence shows 5,000 years of continuous habitation in

413-428: A guesthouse, a shop which sold everything from candy to guns to socks to hats, a golf course, curling rink, bowling alley, and a church. When the power station was automated, the town eventually closed its doors as a community in 2000, the residents were moved out, and the majority of houses (including the school) were burnt down as a training exercise for selected fire departments from all of BC. The plant still exists and

472-471: A population density of 34.4/km (89.1/sq mi) in 2021. According to the 2021 census , religious groups in Kitimat included: The Alcan project was not free from controversy. Politicians, aboriginal groups, farmers and residents of the Nechako Lakes District opposed the contractual release of provincial resources with the profits going to a private firm. Many individuals and groups protested

531-415: A second tunnel through the mountain and extended the generating station within the mountain, the provincial government of the day called a halt to the project for a variety of reasons. Having invested over $ 500 million into the project, Alcan took the provincial government to court. This controversy was settled when Alcan and the provincial government signed the 1997 KCP agreement. Most of the first decade of

590-475: A variety of activities was not uncommon prior to contact, and for some duration after contact into the 1920s. A battle ensued at Dungeness Spit near Port Townsend, WA where some Tsimshian were camped along the shore. One woman survived and was rescued by a lighthouse operator who later married her. The Tsimshian have a matrilineal kinship system, with a societal structure based on a tribe, house group and clan system. Descent and property are transmitted through

649-446: Is 629 km (391 mi) to the east. Kitimat has a warm-summer humid continental ( Köppen climate classification Dfb ) with mild summers and cold, snowy winters (much warmer than inland) with significant snowfall averaging 128 inches (325 cm) each year. The rainiest season is fall, with the wettest month, October, having 320 mm of rainfall. There is also a significant drying trend (Mediterranean pattern) in summer, but it

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708-457: Is anticipated in the 2010–2015 period with a further $ 5 billion-plus in the investigative stage over the next decade. Anticipated investment includes an approximately $ 2 billion modernization to the Rio Tinto Alcan facilities and $ 3 billion in the Kitimat liquefied natural gas export development on Haisla Industrial Land at Bish Creek. The export facility would see natural gas piped in from

767-526: Is estimated to be in 2025. The LNG Canada terminal project will see large LNG carrier ships loading liquefied natural gas at the future Kitimat LNG terminal, and sailing along the Douglas Channel to carry it to export destinations, mainly in Asia. Kitimat is located 63 km (39 mi) south of Terrace and Thornhill on Highway 37. Prince Rupert is 207 km (129 mi) northwest, and Prince George

826-595: Is operational on a shift system. 53°33′59″N 127°57′00″W  /  53.56639°N 127.95000°W  / 53.56639; -127.95000 Kitimat Kitimat is a district municipality in the North Coast region of British Columbia , Canada. It is a member municipality of the Regional District of Kitimat–Stikine regional government. The Kitimat Valley is part of the most populous urban district in northwest British Columbia, which includes Terrace to

885-698: Is or was an important salmon river. Expansion on the project, known as Kemano II , has been contested in the Canadian courts by members of the Cheslatta Carrier Nation with a group of Elders who have filed a Statement of Claim with the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Kemano itself is a name for a tribal subdivision of the Henaksiala , part of the Haisla group, and was a community in its own right after many of

944-582: Is still considered to be the most conservative of the Tsimshian villages. The Nisga'a and Gitxsan remained in the upper Skeena region (above the canyon) near the Nass River and forks of the Skeena respectively, but other Tsimshian chiefs moved down the river and occupied all the lands of the lower Skeena valley. Over time, these groups developed a new dialect of their ancestral language and came to regard themselves as

1003-431: Is too cold and rainy to classify as such. Cloud cover is significant, especially in winter, and less than 30% of possible sunshine occurs each year. In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada , Kitimat had a population of 8,236 living in 3,604 of its 4,381 total private dwellings, a change of 1.3% from its 2016 population of 8,131. With a land area of 239.28 km (92.39 sq mi), it had

1062-610: The The Tsimshian wanted to preserve their villages and fishing sites on the Skeena and Nass Rivers as early as 1879. They were not able to begin negotiating a treaty with the Canadian government until July 1983. A decade later, fourteen tribes united to negotiate under the collective name of the Tsimshian Tribal Council . A framework agreement was signed in 1997. Due to litigation by one community for commercial fisheries rights,

1121-462: The Garden City design concept . Stein's design kept industry well separated from the community with large areas for expansion. He also created looped streets surrounding an urban city centre mall and linked by over 45 km (28 mi) of walkways connecting to all areas of the community. The substantial greenspace areas and future expansion concepts designed by Stein have been upheld to this day by

1180-647: The Hudson's Bay Company moved their fort to modern-day Port Simpson in 1834, nine Tsimshian tribal chiefs moved to the surrounding area for trade advantage. Many of the Tsimshian peoples in Canada still live in these regions. Throughout the second half of the 19th century, epidemics of infectious disease contracted from Europeans ravaged their communities, as the First Nations had no acquired immunity to these diseases. The 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic killed many of

1239-454: The Kitselas, Kitsumkalum, Gitxaala, Gitga'at at Hartley Bay , and Kitasoo at Klemtu ) Lax Kw'Alaams, and Metlakatla, BC . The latter two communities resulted in the colonial intersections of early settlers and consist of Tsimshian people belonging to the 'nine tribes.' The Tsimshian are one of the largest First Nations peoples in northwest British Columbia. Some Tsimshian migrated to

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1298-454: The Skeena River " At one time the Tsimshian lived on the upper reaches of the Skeena River near present-day Hazelton , British Columbia. According to southern Tsimshian oral history , after a series of disasters befell the people, a chief led a migration away from the cursed land to the coast, where they founded Kitkatla Village , the first of three Southern Tsimshian villages. Kitkatla

1357-524: The Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (particularly from shale gas developments such as the Montney and Horn River ) and shipped to Asian markets. The LNG Canada project, a joint venture between Shell and affiliates of Petronas , Mitsubishi Corporation , Korea Gas Corporation and PetroChina would, if permitted, begin construction in 2015 of a gas pipeline from northeastern BC and

1416-538: The yaawk (feast) for one specific event. Today in Tsimshian culture, the potlatch is held to honour deaths, burials, and succession to name-titles. The Tsimshian have four different types of feasts. The feast system is the agency for social reproduction, expression of law, the transmission of knowledge, and demonstration of the obligations for chiefs to provide stewardship for resources and attending to needs of communities. The planning and delivery of feast events requires very specific protocols, including those required for

1475-483: The 2000s and lost their right to this traditional way of fishing. The majority of Tsimshian still live in the lower Skeena River watershed near Prince Rupert , as well as northern coastal BC. Some Tsimshian moved south into the Columbia River Basin mid-nineteenth century for picking hops and other agricultural crops. Many Tsimshian have moved into Seattle region from both AK and BC. Long distance canoe travel for

1534-618: The 20th century. The project required not only building the Kenney Dam to reverse the Nechako River, but also boring a 16 km (10 mi) tunnel under Mt. Dubose, within the Coast Range , to the large hydroelectric Kemano Generating Station built under Mt. Dubose. Electricity from Kemano is transported 80 km (50 mi) across mountains via a custom built twin circuit transmission line. After avalanches tore away transmission towers,

1593-702: The Annette Islands in Alaska, and today approximately 1,450 Alaska Tsimshian people are enrolled in the federally recognized Metlakatla Indian Community , sometimes also called the Annette Island Reserve . The Tsimshian honor the traditional Tlingit name of Taquan for this recent location. Some citizens of the Sitka Tribe of Alaska are of Tsimshian heritage. Tsimshian society is matrilineal kinship -based, which means identity, clans and property pass through

1652-663: The BC shale gas plays. Pending energy projects that have identified Kitimat as a strategic gateway include Pacific Northern Gas' Pacific Trail Pipeline (federal and provincial environmental assessments issued) and the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines (currently being reviewed by the National Energy Board ). Additional investigations into clean energy developments include a Kitimat port development project featuring break-bulk port facilities and consideration of

1711-485: The District appear to have become more cordial, with the two parties working to achieve modernization of the aluminum facilities. In December 2011, Rio Tinto Alcan announced its investment of $ 2.7 billion to complete the modernization of the smelter. Tsimshian The Tsimshian estimate there are 45,000 Tsimshian people and approximately 10,000 members are federally registered in eight First Nations communities (including

1770-710: The Metlakatla Indian Community voted to retain their rights to land and water, and opted out of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA); they have the only Native reservation in Alaska. The Metlakatla Tsimshian maintained their reservation status and holdings exclusive of the ANSCA. They do not have an associated Native Corporation, although Tsimshian in Alaska may be shareholders of the Sealaska Corporation . The Annette Islands Reserve

1829-547: The Prince Rupert region. Gitxaala might have been the first Tsimshian village contacted by Europeans when Captain Charles Duncan and James Colnett arrived in 1787 although Russian fur traders may have visited northern groups earlier. The confluence of the Skeena and Bulkley Rivers was formerly the site of the Tsimshian village of Kitanmaks and became a new European settlement of Skeena Forks (today known as Hazelton). When

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1888-484: The Provincial Government of British Columbia invited Alcan to develop hydroelectric facilities to support one of the most power-intensive of all industries—the aluminum smelting industry. The company built a dam, 16 km (10 mi) tunnel, powerhouse, 82 km (51 mi) transmission line , a deep-sea terminal and smelter . The company also designed, laid out and assisted with the initial construction of

1947-450: The Tsimshian had returned south to their homelands on the Skeena. After this low-water point, the Tsimshian population began to grow again, eventually to reach modern numbers comparable to the 1835 population estimate. However, the numbers of the inland Tsimshian peoples are now higher than they were historically, while those of the Southern and Coastal Tsimshian are much lower. In the 1970s,

2006-446: The Tsimshian harvested the abundant sea life, especially salmon . The Tsimshian became seafaring people, like the Haida . Salmon continues to be at the center of their nutrition, despite large-scale commercial fishing in the area. Due to this abundant food source, the Tsimshian developed permanent towns. They lived in large longhouses , made from cedar house posts and panels to withstand

2065-454: The Tsimshian people. Altogether, one in four Tsimshian died in a series of at least three large-scale outbreaks. In 1835, the total population of the Tsimshian peoples was estimated at 8,500. By 1885, the population had dropped to 4,500, 817 of whom moved to Alaska two years later following Missionary William Duncan. In the 1880s the Anglican missionary William Duncan , along with a group of

2124-576: The Tsimshian, left Metlakatla, British Columbia and requested settlement on Annette Island from the U.S. government . After gaining approval, the group founded New Metlakatla on Annette Island in southern Alaska. Duncan appealed to Congress to grant the community reservation status, which it did in the late 19th century. In 1895, the BC Tsimshian population stood at 3,550, while the Alaska Tsimshian population had dropped to 465 by 1900. Some of

2183-648: The US, either existing or planned on the West ( Alaska , Washington , Oregon ), Gulf ( Louisiana , Texas ) and Atlantic coasts ( Maryland , Virginia ). This new terminal being built in the port of Kitimat will be connected to the Pacific Ocean via the existing Douglas Channel . This development will add new sensitive ship traffic when the LNG Canada natural gas storage and liquefaction terminal will be completed and operational, which

2242-546: The area was more than adequate to generate the required electricity, and decided to build a smelter there. The timing was right because the post- World War II boom saw a rising demand for aluminum. Between 1951 and 1954, after signing the agreement with the British Columbia government for land and water rights, Alcan undertook the Kitimat– Kemano Project , one of the most ambitious Canadian engineering projects of

2301-498: The associated infrastructure for linking those projects to the provincial electrical grid. Air services for the community are provided through Northwest Regional Airport , with connections to Prince George , Smithers , and Vancouver . In the 1920s, the provincial government of British Columbia extensively evaluated the province's hydroelectric generating potential. In the late 1940s, the Canadian Government sought to tap

2360-659: The berries of Vaccinium Vitis-idaea ssp. minus as food. The Tsimshian people of British Columbia encompass fifteen tribes: Some of the Chiefs of these nine tribes happened to be located at Fort Simpson (later Port Simpson, later Lax Kw'alaams , British Columbia)** Giluts'aaw when the Indian Agent assigned reserve communities. Other Chiefs were located at the mission created community of Metlakatla , with some subsequently migrating to Metlakatla, Alaska , newest tribe, with lineages from all Tsimshian tribes. The Tsimshian clans are

2419-399: The best uses for the former Eurocan Wharf. In addition, the decommissioning of the former Eurocan pulp and paper facilities or a slimmed down operation are still under consideration. There is also renewed interest in mineral development potential in the Kitimat area. The neighbouring community of Terrace is also in advanced stages of approval for a number of clean energy projects along with

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2478-646: The city planners, thereby resulting in a low-density settlement pattern interspersed with forested patches. Also, the Alcan-based city origin and land provenance remain documented in the form of restrictive covenants registered on title. Aluminum producer Rio Tinto is the main employer in the municipality. Local government, schools, small manufacturing and service/retail are secondary contributors. Secondary core activities include engineering, import of petrochemical products (methanol and condensate), and metal fabrication. Approximately $ 5 billion in manufacturing investment

2537-421: The city. At the time, the combined development was considered "the most expensive project ever attempted by private industry." Alcan employed the services of city planner Clarence Stein in order to ensure the community design facilitated an environment that would attract and retain workers, although Alcan intended it to not be a company town . Today, Kitimat benefits from the quality of planning resulting from

2596-480: The coastal tribes withdrew during the influx of colonists post-1780, to remove themselves from the threat of diseases and the alien culture. Kemano Indian Reserve No. 17 is located at the site of the Henaksiala village, though most Haisla in the region today live at Kitamaat Village , near Kitimat . The company town of Kemano was originally built in the 1950s and was home to a thriving small community, featuring

2655-491: The construction of a new liquified natural gas port terminal project named LNG Canada , coupled with the construction by a subsidiary of TransCanada of a gas pipeline, known as the Coastal GasLink Pipeline , linking this terminal to the Montney , British Columbia, natural gas field. When completed, LNG Canada will become the first Canadian LNG export ocean terminal, which will compete with other LNG terminals in

2714-559: The eastern end of the tunnel. Sixteen people died making the tunnel. In 1956 the smelter complex consumed 35% of yearly electric energy in British Columbia. The first Kemano Project, known as Kemano I , resulted in the flooding of 339 square miles (880 km) of the Nechako Reservoir , within Cheslatta territory. This reputedly removed approximately 75% of the flow of the Nechako , which

2773-617: The federal government forced a confidentiality clause against other communities and caused dissolution of the main treaty group and subsequently the TTC. A subset of the Tsimshian First Nations continues to negotiate with the BC Treaty Commission to reach an Agreement-in-Principle that has alienated most members. The Tsimshian speak a language, called Sm'algyax , which translates as "real or true tongue". The Tsimshian also speak

2832-524: The flooding caused by the creation of the new reservoir, with the destruction of homesteads, villages, burial grounds, millions of board feet of prime timber, and the disruption of prime fish habitat on the Nechako River . In the late 1980s, the company began work on the Kemano Completion Project which would have doubled the generating capacity of the Kemano plant. After Alcan had already bored

2891-467: The guests. It is untoward to hold out one's hand while payments (also known as 'gifts' by external observers) are being distributed. The Tsimshian have maintained their fishing and hunting lifestyle (although constrained by colonialism and declining fish and animal population abundances), art and culture, and are working to revitalize the common use of their language. Artists have excelled in traditional mediums and contemporary forms with pieces spread around

2950-730: The maternal line. Hereditary chiefs obtain their rights through their maternal line through their mother's brother. Although it is inherited the protege must be trained for proper behavior and groomed well for specific obligations. No lineage should be sullied by inappropriate behaviors of high-ranking members. The marriage ceremony was an extremely formal affair, several prolonged and sequential ceremonies. Arranged marriages and births were common to protect rights of access to territories and resources. Some cultural taboos have related to prohibiting women and men from eating improper foods during and after childbirth. Several taboos still exist and are actively practiced. Like all Northwest Coastal peoples,

3009-621: The maternal line. Their moiety -based societal structure is further divided into sub clans for certain lineages. The Tsimshian language has some 27 different terms for 'chief' likely because it is a stratified and ranked society. Early Euro-Canadian anthropologists and linguists had classified the Gitxsan and Nisga'a as Tsimshian, because of apparent linguistic affinities. The three were all referred to as "Coast Tsimshian", even though some communities were not coastal. These three groups, however, are separate nations. Tsimshian translates to "Inside

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3068-564: The most rugged mountain territory in British Columbia, along the Kildala Pass, about 1,500 m (5,000 ft) above sea-level. Voice communication over the power lines was the only form of fast contact between the sites. Between 1951 and 1954, 6,000 construction workers built the Kenney Dam , tunnel, powerhouse, transmission line, smelter, and townsite. There remains no road to Kemano; everything had to be brought in by air or sea. Construction equipment and supplies were barged over Tahtsa Lake to

3127-569: The north along the Skeena River Valley. The city was planned and built by the Aluminum Company of Canada ( Alcan ) during the 1950s. Its post office was approved on 6 June 1952. Kitimat's municipal area is 242.63 km (93.68 sq mi). It is located on tidewater in one of the few wide, flat valleys on the coast of British Columbia. The 2016 census recorded 8,131 citizens. The District of Kitimat Development Services situates

3186-830: The port of Kitimat as an integral part of the Northwest Corridor connecting North America to the Pacific Ocean and the Pacific Rim. "Kitimat" in the Tsimshian language refers to the Haisla First Nation as the "People of the Snow". Before 1950 the Kitimat township was a small fishing village at the head of the Kitimat Arm of the Douglas Channel , a deepwater fjord . The municipal town of Kitimat came into existence in 1951 after

3245-459: The twenty-first century saw the District of Kitimat in court with the Provincial Government over the electricity rights granted to Alcan and its obligations to the Province and to the District. Rio Tinto Alcan plans to increase the output of its Kitimat smelter from 250,000 MT/Yr to 400,000 MT/Yr and initially committed $ 300 million to this effort. Since late 2008, relations between Rio Tinto Alcan and

3304-518: The untapped resources of northwest British Columbia. All this led to the identification of the Eutsuk / Ootsa / Nechako River drainage basin as a potential site for a sizable reservoir. The potential of this vast system of rivers and lakes prompted British Columbia to invite Alcan to conduct a detailed investigation of the area. Alcan was searching for a site for a large aluminum smelter , an activity requiring vast amounts of electricity. Alcan concluded that

3363-450: The wet climate. These were very large and usually housed an entire extended family. Tsimshian religion centered on the "Lord of Heaven", who aided people in times of need by sending supernatural servants to earth to aid them. The Tsimshian believed that charity and purification of the body (either by cleanliness or fasting ) was the route to the afterlife . The Tsimshian engage in the feast system or potlatch , which they refer to as

3422-410: The world. These artisans practice the tradition of story telling with their chosen mediums. Like other coastal peoples, the Tsimshian fashioned most of their goods out of western red cedar , especially its bark . It could be fashioned into tools, clothing, roofing, armour, building materials, and canoe skins. They used cedar in their Chilkat weaving , which they are credited with inventing. They use

3481-404: Was the only location in Alaska allowed to maintain fish traps according to traditional rights. The use of these were otherwise banned when Alaska became a state in 1959. The traps were used to gather fish for food for people living on the reservation. Legally the community was required to use the traps at least once every three years or lose the right permanently. They stopped the practice early in

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