Visit our community
Where the river meets the ocean at the mighty Nass River estuary, you’ll find the Nisg̱a’a village of Lax̱g̱alts’ap. This small but vibrant community (pop. 575) has much to offer: rich culture and history, natural beauty, and authentic hospitality. Travelers are welcomed at cultural events where they can experience traditional Nisg̱a’a feasting, song, and dance.
Lax̱g̱alts’ap is located within the temperate coastal rainforest, habitat to bald eagles, moose, deer, wolf, mountain goat, marmot, beaver, grizzly and black bears, and even the rare spirit bear, a white-furred subspecies of black bear, which is only found in Central and North Coast BC.
For visitors, Lax̱g̱alts’ap can be a place of adventure, cultural discovery, and personal renewal, far away from tourist crowds, a place to feel the spirit of ‘aam wil bakwsim’—the welcoming hospitality of the Nisga’a people.
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Village on the estuary
The Nass River/ estuary system where Lax̱g̱alts’ap sits is one of the largest, most ecologically significant estuaries in British Columbia, supporting a rich array of coastal wildlife. Orca, gray, and humpback whales pass by on their annual migration, and the estuary is the spawning grounds of oolichan and five species of wild salmon.
For countless generations, the residents of Lax̱g̱alts’ap have relied on the harvest of fish and seafood. Most homes have a traditional smoke house and/or drying racks to preserve the bounty of river and sea.
Oolichan harvest
An annual highlight is the harvesting of oolichan (saak) in Fishery Bay, just southwest of Lax̱g̱alts’ap. These finger-sized fish, members of the smelt family, are rendered into precious oil (t’ilx), which has been a mainstay of Nisga’a diet and a valuable trading item for millennia.
Today, the fishery is managed sustainably by the Nisg̱a’a Fisheries and Wildlife Department, and most of the harvest is distributed among community members or traded with neighbouring First Nations.
Home to the Ni’isjoohl Memorial Pole
The story of the Ni’isjoohl Memorial Pole reflects both the hard times and the victories of recent Nisg̱a’a history.
Raised in 1860 near Lax̱g̱alts’ap as a tribute to a great warrior, this pole was stolen by a European pole collector, who sold it (with the permission of the Canadian government) to the National Museum of Scotland.
In August 2022, the Nisg̱a’a organized a seven-person delegation to the Scotland where, after ceremonies and tough negotiations, they succeeded in asserting ownership.
The pole was shipped back to the Nisg̱a’a lands in September 2023 to take a place of honour at the Nisg̱a’a Museum in Lax̱g̱alts’ap, where it reflects the Nation’s pride in achieving justice and self-determination.
