Kasan First Nation Village
Old Hazelton, British Columbia, Canada
(First Nation long houses, art, totem poles, museum, tours, historic site)

Kasan First Nation Historic Village is a good opportunity to view and learn about the history, art and culture of the Gitxsan First Nation People by visiting a reconstructed First Nation village located between the communities of Smithers and Terrace BC. The village sits where, for many centuries, the Gitxsan carved out a living on the Bulkley and Skeena Rivers. Today the village stands as a tribute to the art of the Upper Skeena People.

The village came about when the Gitxsan People and the rest of the Upper Skeena First Nation Villages required a building to house an, ever increasing, amount of sacred artifacts. The collection became larger as the years went by and in 1959 the first museum was built on the Skeena River in Old Hazelton. The news spread of the museum and in 1970 the people decided to reconstruct an entire Gitxsan Village on the Bulkley River.

The Kasan First Nation Historic Village provides a great opportunity to view First Nation art including clothes, tools, jewelery, longhouses, Totem Poles and ceremonial masks. When entering the parking lot there are two large Totem Poles greeting all visitors. Each pole includes the figures and creatures important to the Gitxsan People.

The footpath from the parking lot leads visitors to another two shorter Totem Poles before entering the village. Continue along the footpath around the corner and a cedar canoe and a row of longhouses appear. The buildings are brightly painted in First Nation symbols with many buildings fronted by Totem Poles. The museum is the first building in the row of longhouses. Here you must pay admission to the village.

Admission is, either, a self guided tour of the outside grounds of the village and the museum or it is a guided interpretive tour which includes access to the inside of some of the longhouses. Some of the buildings in the village are traditional buildings used mainly for tourism purposes while most are actual working buildings used today for First Nation feasts, art school and traditional ceremonies.

After the museum is the workshop building also known as the 'House of Wood Carving' and is the home of the Kitanmax School of Northwest Coast Indian Art. Th eart building is closely followed by the studio which is part of the school and specializes in silk screen art.

The building in the middle of the village with the two towering Totem Poles is the 'Eagle House'. Followed next by the 'Fireweed House' which is an exact replica of the original museum built in 1959.

At the end of the row of longhouses in the village closes to the river is the Wolf House and the Frog House. The Wolf House is a building for housing feasts. The Frog House is about the lifestyle of the Gitxsan People.

How to get to Kasan Historic Village: The village is located at the entrance to Old Hazelton. Travel on Highway 16 for about 60 km (45 miles) west of Smithers until you reach New Hazelton. From the highway take a right towards ‘Old Hazelton’ and travel for about 7 km to the banks of the Skeena River and Old Hazelton.