We’re losing sight of the night sky. This First Nation is trying to protect it
Huu-ay-aht First Nation has followed the stars for centuries. Now the coastal B.C. community is safeguarding them for future generations
The village of Kiix̣in was built to face the heavens. Standing between mossy ancient forests and the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean, Kiix̣in (pronounced kee-hin) was the capital of the Huu-ay-aht First Nation, whose members lived on the rugged edge of what is now called Vancouver Island. They lived there for more than 5,500 years, until the end of the 19th century.
Today, the skeletal remains of the village’s longhouses — remnants of massive carved pillars and doorways, now entwined with the roots of spruces towering overhead — reveal the close connection between the Huu-ay-aht people and the skies above them. The archway of the big house was oriented toward the three stars of what many call the Big Dipper, explains Qiic Qiica (Robert Dennis Jr.), a knowledge keeper and cultural ambassador for the nation. “The stars represent all points in time,” he says: past, present and future.
Like their neighbouring Indigenous communities, Huu-ay-aht was a nation of ocean voyagers who travelled and traded widely. “The sea was our highway,” Qiic Qiica says, and the skies were the road map. They marked the changes in seasons, harvests and natural cycles. Sailors navigated by the stars, while whalers used them to determine when to hunt.
