Old Massett Village Council

Old Massett Village Council is a band government of the Haida people, located in Old Massett, on Haida Gwaii. Old Massett Village Council is one of two Canadian band governments for the Haida Nation, the other being Skidegate Band Council. The main governing body of the Haida people is the Council of the Haida Nation, and as such the two band councils function as village governments.
The band was formed in the late 19th century through the consolidation of Haida communities who spoke, the northern dialect of the Haida language.
As of October 2025, the band has 3,326 registered members, 705 of whom live on reserve. It has 27 reserves, with a total area of. The band is governed by an elected band council, consisting of one Chief and seven councillors, with elections held every three years.

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History

The Haida people are an Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest whose traditional territory encompasses Haida Gwaii, an archipelago of islands off the northwest coast of the Canadian province of British Columbia, and parts of southeastern Alaska. Haida of Old Massett are from communities which spoke, the northern dialect of the Haida language. The northern Haida inhabited the northern half of Graham Island, including other smaller islands like Langara and Hippa Islands. Their major villages included Kung, Hiellen, Dadens, Kiusta, and Yan.
Old Massett was created in the mid 19th century by the consolidation of many northern Haida villages in the wake of the smallpox epidemic of 1862. It was first the location of a Hudson's Bay Company post in 1850. In 1876, it became an Anglican mission, led by Rev. William H. Collison of the Church Missionary Society. That same year, the Haida were defined as Indians under the newly introduced Indian Act. In 1882, the Massett Band was allotted sixteen reserves, which amounted to, by reserve commissioner Peter O'Reilly.
In 1886, Massett was part of the North West Coast Indian Agency, which was headquartered in Metlakatla. In 1910, the North West Coast Agency was subdivided, and Massett and Skidegate became part of the Queen Charlotte Indian Agency. This new agency introduced a full-time Indian agent who lived in Old Massett, subjecting the Haida to close government supervision for the first time. The band was governed by the Indian agent, with the support of the band council. The band council was formed in 1910, and consisted of seven elected community members, most of whom were graduates of the former Anglican Industrial school in Metlakatla.
In 1913, band members provided testimony to the McKenna–McBride Commission, rejecting the imposition of reserves and demanding allotments that were equal to those given to other First Nations in the province. The Commission resulted in the allotment of five additional reserves.
In 1966, the Queen Charlotte Agency was combined with the Naas Agency, which was based in Prince Rupert, ending the close oversight by an Indian Agent which had been in place since 1910. Eight years later, in 1974, the Council of the Haida Nation was formed to collectively represent Canadian Haida, with the specific mandate of settling land claims on Haida Gwaii. The band councils would maintain governing powers over social and economic development, education, and healthcare. The economic development included the establishment of the Yakoun River Hatchery in partnership with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada in 1978, which sought to rebuild the salmon population of the Yakoun River.

Demographics

Like other First Nation band governments, OMVC's registered population includes only status Indians as defined in the Indian Act, who are registered with the band. It therefore does not include individuals who are descended from the band, but have lost their status or are registered with a different band.
As of October 2025, Old Massett Village Council had 3,326 registered members. 705 members lived on reserve and 2,621 lived off reserve. The number of band members has been increasing from the historic low of 350 members in 1915.
Though the total band membership has been increasing, the population on the two inhabited reserves, Masset 1 and Tlaa Gaa Aawtlaas 28, has been decreasing, with a 19.6% decrease between 2006 and 2016.

Governance

The band council comprises eight members, with one chief councillor and seven council members. Elections are held every three years. The 2023–2026 council is:

Donald Edgars
Lisa Bell
Cecil Brown
Robert Brown
Benjamin Edgars
Ashley Jacobson
Brodie Swanson
Lisa White

The primary governing body for the Haida people in Canada is the Council of the Haida Nation. Old Massett Village Council, alongside Skidegate Band Council, functions as a village government, while the CHN functions as a national government. OMVC is therefore responsible for membership, social development, education and healthcare.

Economic Development

In 2014, Old Massett Village Council completed construction of the Hiellen Longhouse Village, a series of 7 cabins located on Hiellen Indian Reserve No. 2, in Naikoon Provincial Park.

Education

Old Massett Village Council is responsible for the administration of Chief Matthews School, a K-4 elementary school, which provides instruction in Haida. The school was first opened in 1994, and is named after longtime Chief Councillor and advocate for education Chief William Matthews.
In 2018, the band council established, to provide instruction and resources for learning, the northern dialect of the Haida language.

Geography

Old Massett Village Council has 27 reserves, whose combined total area is, with the main reserve being Masset 1. The majority of the reserves are located on Graham Island, with 4 located on the nearby Langara Island. Reserves numbered 1-16 were part of the initial allotment by reserve commissioner Peter O'Reilly in 1882. Numbers 17-21 were allotted by Royal Commission in 1916.
The band is classified as a Zone 4, Sub-zone 1 geographic zone by CIRNAC, meaning that there is no year-round road access, leading to a higher coast of transportation, and that they are between 50 km and 160 km from the nearest service centre.

Reserve	Haida name	Location	Area	Coordinates
Massett 1		East shore of Masset Inlet below its entry point, north coast of Graham Island.
Hiellen 2		At mouth of Hiellen River, south of Taaw Tldáaw, northeast coast of Graham Island. Location of Hiellen.
Yagan 3		At Yakan Point, west of Taaw Tldáaw, on McIntyre Bay, north coast of Graham Island.
Lanas 4		At the mouth of the Yakoun River, Yakoun Bay, southeast shore of Masset Inlet, central Graham Island.
Satunquin 5		At Strathdang Kwun, point on west side of Yakoun Bay of Masset Inlet, Graham Island.
Ain 6		At mouth of the Ain River, north shore of Masset Inlet, Graham Island.
Yan 7		West side of entrance to Masset Inlet, Graham Island.
Meagwan 8		At Wiah Point, north coast of Graham Island.
Kose 9		Left bank of the Naden River, four miles south of the mouth of Naden Harbour, Graham Island.
Naden 10		At mouth of Standly Creek, Naden Harbour, Graham Island.
Kung 11		West side of Alexandra Narrows, which connects Naden Harbour and Virago Sound. Location of Ḵang.
Daningay 12		West side of Virago Sound, north coast of Graham Island.
Yatze 13		Southeast of Klashwun Point, west of Virago Sound, north coast of Graham Island.
Jalun 14		Northwest of Nankivell Point, mouth of Jalun River, northwest coast of Graham Island.
Kioosta 15		South shore of Parry Passage, northwest tip of Graham Island. Site of Kiusta.
Tatense 16		Southwest tip of Langara Island. Location of Dadens.
Susk 17		At Peril Bay east of Frederick Island, west coast of Graham Island.
Saouchten 18		Rooney Point, west side of Masset Harbour, Graham Island.
Egeria Bay 19		On Egeria Bay, east side of Langara Island.
Cohoe Point 20		On Dibrell Bay, east coast of Langara Island.
Yasitkun 21		Northwest coast of Langara Island.
Guoyskun 22		At Rhodeas Point, west coast of Langara Island.
Naden 23		At mouth of Standly Creek, Naden Harbour, north shore of Graham Island. Location of K'uu'laanas.
Owun 24		At the mouth of the Awun River, Awun Bay, south shore of Massett Inlet, Graham Island.
Mammin River 25		At mouth of the Mamin River on Mammin Bay, Masset Inlet, Graham Island.
Tiahn 27		At Tian Bay, west shore of Graham Island.
Tlaa Gaa Aawtlaas 28		Just south of Massett on east side of Masset Sound between Camp and Skaga Points, Graham Island.